Marcelo Bielsa’s hugely influential approach to football has not taken long to bed in at
Leeds United. While there have been some new signings, the effect on the existing Leeds
squad, largely tipped for midtable ahead of Bielsa’s arrival, has been remarkable.
Mateusz Klich, the Leeds United midfielder, said in an interview with the Yorkshire Evening
Post: “He is very strict, it is like being in the military…We don’t play games, it
is tactics, tactics, tactics and fitness.” Bielsa’s remarkably thorough opposition
analysis is part of this, determining how Leeds United’s opposition will play and
finding solutions to this, but such intensity is also required to instil his own ideas of
how football should be played. Bielsa likes direct, attacking football, played at pace
while retaining possession. He favours using width, with players moving constantly and
rotating to achieve numerical overloads. Build-up begins at the back and often results in rapid,
incisive counter-attacks even from deep. Bielsa also coaches his teams to press relentlessly,
and look to profit from turnovers and attacking while the opposition is still trying to position
itself in transition.
Leeds United’s set-up suggests a 4-1-4-1, which is the usual formation in the defensive
phase. Here, Leeds will essentially press hard and look to win back the ball quickly.
Their attacking system is more complex, though.
In transition between defence and attack, and in the attacking phase, they do resemble
Bielsa’s famed 3-3-1-3 more than the 4-1-4-1 formation might suggest. This sees a defensive
midfielder moving backwards, covered by one central midfielder, with the full backs pushing
up to join the middle line. One midfielder sits behind the attacking three, while the
wide midfielders split wide flanking a striker.
In build-up, the centre backs, usually the excellent Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper,
will split to allow Kalvin Phillips, the preferred choice in defensive midfield, to drop and
collect the ball, either from the centre-backs or the goalkeeper. He can then turn and drive
forwards, or look for a passing option, ideally an aggressive, vertical pass to the midfield
line.
Phillips is key to the system. He tends to look to play forwards, but this is not always
possible. Taking the ball under pressure, he can shepherd it back to the centre-backs,
or the goalkeeper, all the while looking to then push beyond the first opposition line
to find space to take a return, or shuttling across to make himself available as an option
should the ball be worked wide.
Ahead of this single pivot, Leeds United’s full backs push very high. They will also
stay wide, so that if the channel of attack is down the right, for example, the left back,
Douglas or Alioski, will be in space to receive a switch pass. It’s also notable that should
one of the full backs start an attack by carrying the ball forwards, they will generally remain
as part of that attack, rather than releasing the pass and then holding a position. This
helps Leeds create overloads in attacking situations, relying as much on the work rate
of players to get back and cover as it does on the defensive shield of the defensive midfielder
and centre backs.
While the central midfield is nominally two players, there is a significant amount of
movement and rotation, as one would expect from a Bielsa-coached side. The aim of the
midfield in transition and attack is to find space between the lines, then carry the ball
forwards and look for through balls or passes that can exploit the space out wide, before
pushing up to support the attack in the final third. One midfielder will often push further
up, so that Leeds can look to achieve a staggered series of pass and move situations to progress
the ball directly and at pace.
It’s noticeable, too, that there is a degree of rotation and flexibility among the two
central midfielders and wide attacking midfielders. While the full backs generally stay wide and
look to create width, the wide midfielders are happy to come inside and attack the channels
between the opposition centre back and full back, if they’re playing a back four. Pablo
Hernandez, probably Leeds United’s key attacking player this season, excels at this and has
weighed in with double figures for goals and assists.
In addition, the central midfielders will push out and the wide attackers tuck in, if
this helps move the ball quickly into dangerous areas. Leeds’ players are unafraid to roam
from their positions, and this is likely due to Bielsa’s insistence on a mixture of repetition
and invention – moves are rehearsed but then, in game, creativity is encouraged within
those parameters.
It’s also worth noting that Leeds players will often pass while moving forwards – it’s
very unusual to see a series of passes between fairly static players, and Leeds players will
push up to meet the ball even if it’s coming towards them. This consistently generates
forward momentum, putting Leeds on the front foot and also forcing the opposition to move
backwards. This often causes issues for opposition defenders, as their retreat from and focus
on a number of advancing Leeds players means they don’t pick up movement behind themselves
or from wide positions infield.
Ahead of this, the striker has a key role – his movement and running off the ball
and between the lines is key to creating the space for the attacking midfielders, or on-rushing
central midfielders. Kemar Roofe’s dynamism and off-the-ball movement has been excellent
for Leeds in this regard; his stand-in, Patrick Bamford, has delivered less, which has hampered
the dangerous runs forwards of midfielders like Klich.
Leeds United have stuttered somewhat as the season approaches its end. Part of this has
been an inability to profit from chances – while Leeds shoot more than any other Championship
side, they are not good at taking their best opportunities. Roofe’s injury issues played
a part in this, as his movement was key to players like Klich and Hernandez finding space
to attack. Leeds’ approach and system have not changed in the run-in to the season’s
end; they are simply not executing it as well.
But in Bielsa, the side have a coach who has taken a fairly talented squad, but without
any genuine stars, and fashioned something that is both greater than the sum of its parts,
and, when it works, superb to watch. Tactically complex and thought-provoking, and capable
of devastating football with pace and precision, Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds has been one of English
football’s outstanding teams this season.