OPINION
While there will no doubt be a sense of disappointment about Leeds United’s League Cup defeat to Preston North End, the Elland Road faithful must not let the Marcelo Bielsa bubble burst at the first hurdle.
The Argentine manager tasted defeat for the first time in charge of the Whites on Tuesday as they succumbed to a 2-0 home loss, with a much changed starting XI unable to overcome Preston despite the visitors being forced to play with 10 men for over an hour.
With nine changes, it was clear Bielsa was resting his star men while giving fringe figures the chance to shine, but quite frankly no one really stood out on a day when it was an opportunity to prove their worth to the boss.
Speaking after the game, the former Lille coach slammed his side’s inability to create chances, especially from the wings, stating to the Yorkshire Evening Post: “We didn’t connect crosses with a man in the box. When we were 11 versus 11 it was hard for us to build from the back and create dangerous actions.
“We could have avoided the goals we conceded. We had a lot of possession and we played 11 versus 10 for a long time but we didn’t reflect this superiority with clear offensive actions.”
With Bielsa choosing to pick out the problems out wide in his post-match verdict, it does not bode well for the four men who stepped into the roles both at full back and on the wing.
It was a mix of young flair and experienced heads, with Stuart Dallas and Tom Pearce at the back and summer signing Jack Harrison joined by natural centre forward Tyler Roberts up front.
None of the quartet have been given much, if any, time in the first team prior to Tuesday’s defeat and judging from the way Bielsa is speaking, they failed their auditions in the senior side.
The League Cup is a great way to bed youngsters in with some competitive game time but with Leeds now out, the manager is hardly going to gamble on their inclusion when league points are at stake.
It was not the way anyone in the Leeds side would have wanted the clash to go, but for the men tasked with delivering crosses in from out wide, their boss’ decision to highlight their inabilities shows they have much to do to fight their way into the first team reckoning any time soon.