Bielsa off to a flier as fans turn up volume
LEEDS UTD 3 Klich 15, Hernandez 45+1, Cooper 57 STOKE CITY 1 Afobe 52 (pen)
THoSe hunting for the effect of Marcelo Bielsa yesterday would have been best served looking behind the stand named after John Charles over three hours before kick-off.
Leeds supporters were already beginning to line that narrow lane. Anticipation building, excitement growing. When it came to Bielsa’s team actually turning up, hundreds were roaring.
they draped over barriers fashioning a corridor to the stadium’s reception, clambering up a stairwell to catch a glimpse. It was loud; Leeds loud.
Bielsa has captured the imagination of this city and that has never been more obvious than in the ferocity of the reception to their team bus trundling around one corner of elland road. It has been quite some time since a Leeds side sparked this sort of electricity.
their team — certainly not at full strength — produced in style, pummelling Stoke City into submission with tigerish intent. Gary rowett admitted they were incapable of dealing with the fierceness of Bielsa’s midfield, who showed a relentless appetite to run that pointed to those triple training sessions paying off.
In the short term, anyway. there are detractors who believe the Argentine might well run this relatively small squad into the ground. Whether he manages to maintain these levels is all part of the intrigue but there is no denying that this was a very enthusing start indeed.
three goals, scored by Mateusz Klich, Pablo Hernandez and Liam Cooper, were no more than Leeds deserved. Bielsa, perched on the top of a bucket turned upside down, remained motionless through each celebration. Yet his head must have been dizzy by the end of a rousing afternoon, as he forgot to shake rowett’s hand. rowett, it must be said, did not see the harm.
‘the atmosphere was even bigger than what I thought,’ Bielsa said. ‘the fans were connected to our message in every second of the game.
‘My team took risks when moving the ball. our players were very ambitious and they put in a great physical effort.’
What must the owner, Andrea radrizzani, think of the big-top circus? It will not have gone unnoticed that Bielsa, a slave to homework, sussed Stoke out before this had even started, targeting a channel between ryan Shawcross and Moritz Bauer on their right.
the majority of home chances came from that area, including Klich’s 15th-minute opener, the product of an exquisitely tenacious run and slip by Samuel Saiz.
radrizzani might, though, take even more pleasure from the scenes outside. He arrived seconds before the Leeds coach, treated like royalty as he was swarmed by camera phones and flanked by three aides. one of those aides shot a video for a keepsake. radrizzani headed straight for the pitch, chatting to several players.
they were even chattier afterwards. Leeds’ second goal, right on half-time, was gifted to them by Jack Butland, who palmed Hernandez’s speculative effort into his own right-hand corner. Cooper’s 57th-minute third, a thumping header from Barry Douglas’s wicked corner, was too easy. ‘We made it more difficult with basic mistakes,’ rowett said. ‘All three were poor reactions to losing the ball or a set-piece.’
rowett could be forgiven for feeling further infuriation that Cooper’s goal came just minutes after a penalty, scored by Benik Afobe, that briefly offered them hope. tom Ince rattled the bar too and there was a late flurry but the new manager knew this was not good enough.
Bielsa, meanwhile, refused to make any proclamations about Leeds’ prospects. the 63-year-old was somewhat agitated by this not being an absolutely perfect performance.
‘our team has to improve,’ he added. ‘We didn’t try to link defence and attack on the ground by the end. We challenged for the ball, we didn’t move it as good as we wanted. We couldn’t get the ball back.’ that came via his translator Salim Lamrani, who is key in delivering messages during training at thorp Arch. You sense Lamrani could be hoarse this week, despite these stirring beginnings. the quest for crazy perfection continues.