BBC pundit Micah Richards has given his thoughts on Leeds United’s play and their hopes for the rest of the season.
Leeds failed at their chance to move away from the Premier League relegation battle this past weekend as they fell to a 4-2 defeat at Elland Road.
The game was something of a rollercoaster for Marcelo Bielsa’s men, falling 2-0 behind to Manchester United in the first half, before getting back level with two quickfire goals soon after the restart, before succumbing to two late goals to make it four games without a win in the Premier League.
However, speaking on 5 Live Sport’s The Monday Night Club, Richards, whilst speaking to Alfie Kemp from the LS11 podcast, claimed that he saw something from Bielsa’s side, especially in the second half, that made him feel as if the club would end up being OK between now and the end of the season.
He said: “You did alright in the second half, and you were outstanding in that second half. And I know you gave away a couple of cheap goals after you brought it back to 2-2, but that should give you the belief. And I know it was against Man Utd, so the game was always going to be a bit rowdy, but I saw something in that second half with Leeds to say that actually, if they play on the front foot, they’ll be fine.”
TIF Thoughts on Micah Richards’ comments about Leeds United and their style of play…
Can Leeds avoid relegation?
Yes!
No!
Playing on the front foot is certainly something that Leeds are comfortable with, as an article from The Athletic details: “Leeds don’t just run a lot. They run overwhelmingly harder than everyone else, to the point where they force others to run hard, too,” which played a big part in why they were able to make such an impact in their first season back in the Premier League.
However, given the problems that they have faced when it comes to the defence – partly down to injuries that have meant they are missing their ‘lynchpin’ in Kalvin Phillips as well as captain Liam Cooper – it’s hard for them to have that same confidence in the backline that will allow them to attack as freely as they have in the past.
So things might start to look better for them as and when those players come back from their injuries, then we’ll really be able to see what this side can produce – and if it’s anything like last season, it should give them a good chance of pulling away from the bottom part of the table and the threat of a relegation battle.
In other news: Exciting: Leeds fans will be purring as footage of loanee emerges