English football is being hit by another Covid-19 storm, this time suspected to be the spread of the Omicron variant. Even so, in reality, in the stands the stadium is still crowded with supporters. Including at Ellan Road Stadium. At Leeds United’s home, the match continued for the 18th week of the English Premier League is presented. Marcelo Bielsa’s team host Arsenal.
The team that in the last two games won two wins, while Luke Ayling et al had to admit the superiority of Chelsea and Manchester City in the previous two matches. Although, the home team is not favored to win, Arsenal is also not a team that can fully guarantee victory at the opponent’s cage. This means that Leeds also has a chance to win and correct the negative trend.
Did it work? In an effort to break the negative trend, Bielsa tried to invite his team to play optimistically. Those who are being undermined by injuries and Covid-19, continue to install an open formation, namely 4-2-3-1. I call it open, because if Leeds was attacking, they would have put at least 4 players in the final area. This is the same as Arsenal’s 4-4-1-1 formation.
Even if the Gunners attack, they will place at least 4 players in the area near the opponent’s penalty box. That is, this fight presents an open battle. In fact, when the game was only one minute old, Leeds had already created one kick. Although, not quite right on target. It’s just that, after that opportunity, Leeds actually got a barrage of attacks from Arsenal. Until in the end, Gabriel Martinelli succeeded in bringing Arsenal ahead first.
Left behind first, The Whites then tried to re-build the attack. However, Leeds often broke possession of the ball with the wrong positioning of the players, poor passing accuracy, and the ability of Arsenal players to read the direction of the ball. This then made Arsenal managed to sweep a wave of Leeds attacks which were still chaotic, then used to steal another goal through Martinelli. Arsenal began to move away. When his team fell behind, Bielsa brought in a young player, Summerville, who was a striker. He replaced the Leeds player who played as a midfielder.
That is, Leeds like playing with a 4-1-3-2 formation. Or, if they are attacking, they will form a 4-1-2-3 formation. However, Bielsa’s formation breakthrough didn’t seem to meet the target. In fact, Arsenal actually managed to widen the distance to 0-3, after Bukayo Saka scored a goal before the first half ended.
Arsenal also entered the dressing room with a landslide advantage. This makes Bielsa’s face often get the spotlight, until I sympathize with her. Because, what Bielsa did was not entirely wrong. As the home team, it’s hard to let your opponent win easily. And, one way to make it happen is by presenting attacking football. Because, in football if you want to win, you have to attack to score goals.
However, that simple logic cannot be compromised with the situation of a team that is not in its maximum squad composition. This is what happened to Leeds in this match. They’re limping. From the front line to the back line, important Leeds players could not appear. Luke Ayling who is actually a full-back, should also be a centre-back. Although, he can play quite well, but in some moments, he still looks exhausted when facing a wave of Arsenal attacks. Including, facing high pressure by Arsenal forwards when Leeds were trying to build attacks from the bottom.
This means that Bielsa’s approach to this match is not appropriate if it is based on the condition of his team. If he has Patrick Bamford up front and behind who plays are players who are in their original position, then the open play tactic is likely to be executed well. Rigidity in the philosophy of the game, making Bielsa have to admit that Arsenal have a greater chance of winning than his team. Because, Arsenal can take advantage of a more open space like in the first half.
However, Bielsa is still Bielsa. He also tried to encourage his team to be more daring to attack in the second half. The difference is, this time they are more structured, and the distance between players is closer. This makes the ball flow quite better than the first half. Until then, the onslaught of Leeds players managed to create opportunities to score goals.
Indeed, the opportunity could not be separated from Ben White’s carelessness in throwing the ball in the penalty box which led to a penalty. However, we need to admit that Raphinha’s penalty execution is very classy. The Leeds public may also have hopes that their champion team can continue to narrow the scoring gap as they did during the duel with Chelsea. However, Arsenal did not stay silent.
Mikel Arteta can be said to be able to read the needs of his team by entering Emile Smith Rowe to replace Saka. Substitution telling, because not long ago, Arsenal managed to score the fourth goal through Rowe’s feet. This goal can also be said to be the end of the game for Leeds, because they will be very difficult to prevent Arsenal from winning. If you only score one goal you have to go through a penalty, what about the second, third, and fourth goals?
Leeds difficulties also increased, as Arteta entered Nuno Tavares in place of the giver of assist to Rowe, Martin Odegaard. This means that Arsenal have a lot of defensive midfielders, even though they are now forming a 4-3-3 formation. The actual formation is offensive, but tends to be balanced. Because, the three players in the middle are defensive type, while the three players in front are dynamic type–can be invited to defend or attack quickly.
It’s also dangerous if Leeds makes a mistake. Because, they could be punished with a quick counterattack. But, lucky enough for Leeds, because Arsenal have chosen to “relax”. They are more focused on fighting in the middle and that is enough to make Leeds crash at home.
A score of 1-4 marked the end of a match that was actually exciting, even though it ended with an unequal score. Arsenal were too superior for Leeds United’s frail defense, and this drew attention to Bielsa. What is the problem between Bielsa and Leeds?
The reason is clear, namely that Bielsa’s game tends to be open and attacking, instead of defending and pragmatically like the teams that fill the quota of 20 clubs in the EPL. While it looks entertaining, I don’t completely agree with Bielsa’s approach to Leeds United. Because, in my opinion, Leeds United as a squad, are not teams like Liverpool and Manchester City.
In fact, a team with a squad as good as Manchester United had played ‘geeky’ under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Meanwhile, the Leeds players, most of whom were not yet at a high level, played like a tough team.
That’s what I then criticize, because they have the potential to be destroyed by opponents who have good quality up front. In fact, it doesn’t have to be Man. City and Liverpool can tear their net, clubs like Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur can knock them out.
The two teams have good front lines and usually like to play pragmatically. And unfortunately for Leeds, there are plenty of teams with this style of play in the EPL. In fact, half are adherents of opportunist tactics, instead of playing pretty. This is what in my opinion will make Leeds a difficult team to last long in the EPL.
Not because they played badly, but because there was a mismatch between the coach’s game philosophy and the composition of the squad. Of course, with great respect to the retainer of Leeds. That factor makes the future of Bielsa and Leeds in limbo. I think Leeds are trying to keep Bielsa, because they are definitely aware of the quality of Bielsa’s tactics.
However, they must also be confused about the future of the club, if then their position is getting closer and closer to the brink of relegation. If you have to look at the fact that there is a trend of new coach dynamics as it is today, most likely, Bielsa will part with Leeds. Although, I’m not sure that the decision will see Leeds escape relegation.
Instead, I think that they will also find it difficult to stay in the EPL, if they are with the current squad playing with a coach who is guided by pragmatism. Possibly, Steve Bruce will be chosen by Leeds for the minimum target of surviving in the EPL this season.
It’s like Newcastle United last season who hooked Steve Bruce to save Newcastle from the threat of relegation. And indeed, Bruce is suitable for short-term targets. However, he would not be suitable for long-term targets.
Moreover, these Leeds players have better potential when compared to Newcastle players. It’s just that the fitness factor and individual quality of the players seem to match the coach’s philosophy, making Leeds what it is today. I hope he gets the chance to coach a club slightly above Leeds United. At a minimum, financially and the squad of players is quite well established for EPL affairs. For example, Everton.
In my opinion, with an open play tactical approach, the Everton squad is more likely to apply such tactics. Plus, Everton’s players aren’t exactly star labels either, so it’s still easy for Bielsa to manage.
In my opinion, Bielsa’s opportunity to Everton is quite open – if he parted ways with Leeds and Everton had not made a change of manager, considering that Rafael Benitez’s position in the manager’s chair was not safe. And as a neutral, I prefer Bielsa over Wayne Rooney who was rumored to be with Everton. Even though he is old, Bielsa has a clear grip on the game. At least, he can lay the right foundation for Everton for two or three seasons.
After that, do you want to be coached by Wayne Rooney or Frank Lampard, please. Especially, if the next manager is Lampard, I don’t think his style of play will change much, because he also likes an open game. Then, will it happen?
ASL
