Leeds United writer Conor McGilligan has slammed manager Marcelo Bielsa for his tactic to have his team play out of the back in a certain way.
In their most recent Premier League outing, Leeds suffered a painful 3-2 loss against Chelsea – losing the game thanks to a last-minute Jorginho penalty.
Having taken the lead in the match thanks to a penalty scored by Raphinha, Bielsa’s men allowed their opponents back into the game with a sloppy piece of play.
As is often the case with Leeds, goalkeeper Illan Meslier tried to clip a ball out to one of the fullbacks on the wing. It was a tricky ball for Stuart Dallas to control and he quickly lost possession allowing Chelsea to come forward and score through Mason Mount.
This style of playing out from the back drew criticism from McGilligan who said ‘it doesn’t work’ and that he doesn’t ‘understand the point’ of it.
Speaking on the One Leeds Fan YouTube channel, he explained (16:48): “I know that Marcelo Bielsa is essentially instructing Leeds to do that, to play out from the back, to build from the wings. But since the days of Bailey Peacock-Farrell, it’s not worked, it doesn’t work.
“Our players aren’t big enough, we’re not able to build attacks from those positions, we don’t catch the opposition out.
“So I don’t really understand the point in continuing with that.”
TIF thoughts on Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds…
Whatever anyone might think about the tactic, it’s clear to see it didn’t work in the most recent match against Chelsea. Unfortunately, that moment cost Leeds one of three goals that ultimately meant they fell to a 3-2 defeat, coming away with zero points despite scoring two goals of their own.
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It may have been a good performance, but those count for little when you’re trying to put points on the Premier League table. As a result, the Yorkshire team find themselves only five points above the relegation zone, having played one more game than 18th-placed Burnley.
If Bielsa is to guide his team to safety this season, it may well be time for him to abandon this tactic, as McGilligan suggests, and try something new.
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