Leeds went back to the top of the Championship on Sunday after a 2-0 win against Barnsley.
Leeds left it late and it was substitute Eddie Nketiah who finally broke the deadlock in the 84th minute. Nketiah also won the penalty that finished the game off when Mateusz Klich converted in the 89th minute.
Striker Patrick Bamford was taken off for Nketiah and it was the second game he’d blanked after failing to score in the 1-0 defeat against Swansea before the international break.
In a Q&A on the Athletic, Hay said that Bamford looked “unhappy” when he was taken off and that Bielsa obviously felt the need to console him.
Hay revealed that manager Marcelo Bielsa described Bamford as a “great centre forward” after the game and that he’d told him he deserved a goal when he hooked him off for Nketiah.
Bielsa non-committal on whether Costa/Nketiah might start now. Said he thinks Bamford and Harrison are big players for his team. Described Bamford as a "great centre forward" and said he told him he'd deserved a goal when he substituted him.
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) September 15, 2019
TiF Tactics – the problem with Bamford
Bamford has already scored four goals in the Championship this season, and four from seven games is a good record. However, he’s missed big chances in the last two games and it cost his side against Swansea.
It’s not the first time that Nketiah has had to come on and win the points either, after scoring a late winner against Brentford earlier in the season.
Bamford had five shots against Barnsley but didn’t hit the target with any of them [WhoScored] and that’s been a big part of his story so far this season.
The All Stats Aren’t We Twitter account posted some graphs highlighting what Bamford offers and where he’s failing for Leeds.
Taking shots isn’t a problem for Bamford and he posts well for total shots v non-penalty goals.
However, he struggles with shots on target and conversion.
Ahead of the Barnsley game, Bamford was registering just 27.8% of his shots on target in the Championship this season. Compare that to Nketiah who boasts 50% of his five shots on target per 90 minutes and Aleksandar Mitrovic, currently top scorer in the Championship, who hits the target with 45.8% of his 3.17 shots per 90 minutes. [WyScout]
Bamford must improve and start delivering more for Leeds or Nketiah could get the chance to show what he can do from the start.
https://twitter.com/JoshAHobbs/status/1172046596638498816