Progression Podium Points
9: Ayling
4: Raphinha
3: Harrison
1: Llorente, Firpo
Shot Buildup Involvement Podium Points
6: Raphinha
3: Phillips, Klich, Harrison
2: Ayling
1: Dallas
Receiving Podium Points
8: Raphinha
4: Bamford
3: Klich
2: Phillips
1: Rodrigo
There have been flashes of the Ideal Bielsa Leeds here and there: the thrilling fast breaks vs Burnley and the suffocating pressing and slick ball movement vs Everton most notably, but the total package has had a few too many leaks to think that Leeds are fully ready for another step forward. The weaknesses:
-both Burnley and Everton were able to bully their way down the pitch to solid shot and xG totals from minimal extended possession and lots of long balls forward
-despite the slick possession and movement through midfield, Everton were able to clog Leeds up at the doorstep to the danger zone by sitting back
-Burnley were able to disrupt Leeds from consistently getting the passing game going through midfield
-United were able to totally stifle the buildup at the source, forcing Leeds field position way back and cutting off the first step
It’s a reminder Leeds have a squad with lots of players who were considered Championship players a few years ago and play a very risky, hard to pull off style, it’s not always going to be smooth sailing. It’s almost always interesting though.
Non long-ball merchants receiving more Fields Gained than Raphinha: Mane, Salah, Elliott, Gündogan. Non City players with more Fields Gained progression than Ayling: Adam Webster. The #2 combo in terms of Fields Gained is Webster-Groß at 6.5…Ayling-Raphinha is at 9.7. The difference between the #1 and #2 combo is the same as the difference between #2 and #32. It’s an incredible gap and a move they hit over and over…it helps to have Dallas’s movement on the right to overwhelm and confuse defenses to help get Raphinha free.
High Volume Carriers Up Wide
Raphinha and Harrison each have at least 8 Fields Gained carrying, just slightly behind Ayling at the top of the Leeds list for progression through carrying. They both are right around 8 Fields Gained passing as well. This isn’t a super common combo as can be seen below (the two Leeds logos)
They are right next to Salah and superstar Ismaila Sarr (post coming on Watford, and mainly him, soon).
What’s going on with Rodrigo?
The former Leeds transfer record (before Dan James) had some great per minute metrics last year but was never clearly trusted by Bielsa. This year he’s gotten just two games, 117 minutes and is yet to have a shot. By far Leeds best performance came in the game he didn’t play. His 4 shot buildup involvements are the same number as Robin Koch, Pascal Struijk and Jamie Shackleton and his progression numbers are 40-50% lower than fellow attackers Raphinha and Harrison. Rodrigo is 30, hasn’t found a role at Leeds and Bielsa’s Manic Pixie Welsh Boy just beat his transfer record and if Dan James comes into the lineup, it won’t be good for Rodrigo.
He was only occasionally trusted and favored when his metrics were at the top end of the PL, this years very slow start will ratchet up the pressure even more. As of now, it looks like the odds of this transfer being classified as a miss seem relatively high.
High Press
Leeds high press remains a distinctive factor: it’s been there all 3 games and only Southampton and Man City have pressed more, with #4 quite far behind.
In passes originating in Zones 7/6/5, no team forces a higher share of incompletions than Leeds so far (the Everton/Burnley caveat should be factored in here).
Leeds are always fascinating as they use the whole pitch, have shifting systems and roles and their games often return outlying results. While they aren’t quite kicking on a level above last year, it’s good to remember last years season was extremely high. There is still a lot to like about Leeds, it’s early and the problems are fixable.