'Good day': QPR star praised for 'smashing into' Leeds United stars as Joe Rodon criticised

QPR striker Michael Frey wasn’t on the scoresheet against Leeds United on Saturday afternoon but earned praise from the local press in Yorkshire for his ‘old school centre forward’ showing against the league leaders.

It was an action-packed meeting at Loftus Road which saw Marti Cifuentes’ side go into a 2-0 lead after 30 minutes thanks to goals from Koki Saito and Steve Cook. The Whites then pulled one back before the break through a Morgan Fox own goal, despite QPR shouts for offside, and equalised with 40 minutes left to play via Jayden Bogle.

Saito was then shown a red card in injury time for a lunge on Daniel James, with a point against the title-chasers a good result for QPR. Reviewing the match, the Yorkshire Evening Post singled out one QPR player for particular praise in Frey.

Michael Frey enjoys ‘lovely afternoon’ against Leeds United

The 30-year-old, who joined QPR from Royal Antwerp in January 2024, is the club’s top scorer this season with eight goals in all competitions. Frey missed a large part of the campaign between October and December with a calf injury and has bagged four Championship goals since his return.

He wasn’t on target against Leeds United but the Yorkshire Evening Post praised Frey for a ‘good day’ and said: “The big man up top for QPR had a lovely afternoon smashing into people, annoying them and debating life with the officials. He did his job really well and with a big smile on his face. Even when there was some niggle to his interactions with Leeds players he followed up with high fives or affectionate pats. An old school centre forward if ever there was one.”

Frey was up against experienced Championship defenders at the heart of the Leeds United defence in Pascal Struijk and Joe Rodon. The Whites have only conceded 25 goals in 38 matches this season, a record bettered only by the miserly Burnley in the second tier.

QPR boss ‘proud’ of Leeds United performance

Writing about Rodon’s performance in Defence, the Yorkshire Evening Post added: “For a player who had put together such a long string of impressive performances and one so visibly annoyed by defensive lapses, the last two weekends will not have pleased him. When the cross came in, all too easily, for QPR's second Steve Cook was one of two players with a tonne of freedom. Rodon wasn't close enough to put any kind of pressure on the goalscorer, nor was he close enough to affect any QPR player in the box.”

Reviewing the match against Leeds United, QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes said: “We spoke about the importance of starting on the front foot today after the last couple of performances. We needed a bit of urgency and we showed that from the beginning. I’m very happy and proud of how we started against a fantastic side, in my opinion, the best team in the league.

“To be 2-0 up, it was a pity to concede in the only chance they got in the first half. When you play against quality teams they don’t need much to score goals. We tried to maximise our opportunities according to the situation we have. A draw doesn’t help us much in the table but I’m still proud of the guys.”

In other news, this is how QPR players rated in the 2-2 draw against Leeds United with several 9/10 performances on the pitch.