Bielsa’s Leeds Miss More Than Hit?
Hit or Miss?
There was a lot of support coming Leeds United’s way when they finally made their return to the top flight of English football after a long spell away. One of the reasons many neutrals were excited at the prospect was that Marcelo Bielsa would be the man leading the charge from the dugout. After a somewhat impressive start, people are questioning the Argentinian’s methods, as his side fast becomes more miss than hit.
The opening game of the campaign away at Anfield saw Leeds make a fantastic return to the top of the English game. Yes, they ended up losing 4-3, but they took the game to the champions. They were behind three times and hit back. Leeds played with unbelievable intensity, got after Liverpool, and ultimately did themselves and their manager justice. They followed the 4-3 reverse up with a 4-3 victory against Fulham, too. Thus revealing a lack of consistency, even though fans can always expect to be entertained at every match.
Bielsa is renowned for being a manager who will stick to his guns regarding how he wants his team to set up and play, regardless of results and outside pressures, Satta King as he believes in what he’s doing. Everyone knew that Leeds would be promoted and potentially be on the wrong side of some poor results because of it. But, at the time of writing, they have won seven, drawn two and lost nine.
Yes, they are clear of a relegation battle and positioned in midtable, but after two successive league defeats where they have failed to score, with the latter seeing them out of sorts against Brighton, they could end up in trouble.
The probability of this happening is not as farfetched as supporters would think, especially this season, when we have seen teams’ fortunes change drastically after losing or winning three games in a row. This has been borne out by the extra attention given to the EPL by experienced bookmakers, and more so by recent entrants, such as PartyCasino who have just launched their sportsbook service.
Against Graham Potter’s Seagulls, a game that Leeds lost 1-0, Bielsa’s team lacked the verve they usually have. A lot gets said about his sides running out of steam because of the intensity they play at. And it remains to be seen whether this will prove to be the case this season. But a 3-0 defeat to Crawley in the FA Cup, a match where Leeds had a strong line up on display, sandwiched between a three-nil loss to Spurs and the 1-0 reverse at home to Brighton isn’t a good sign, especially when you consider Leeds failed to score in all three fixtures.
Leeds’ next Premier League fixture sees them travel to out of form Newcastle, a side they beat 5-2 at Elland Road back in December, in one of their traditional gung ho games. There is no doubting the side from Yorkshire are fantastic to watch when they’re in full flow, and everything is going to plan. However, alongside the entertaining victories against Fulham, Aston Villa, Newcastle and West Brom have come matches where they look well short of what’s required. The defeats to Leicester, Crystal Palace, Spurs and, especially Manchester United, spring to mind. Bielsa won’t change for now, but there may come a time where he has to.
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