IT’S STILL TOWN
Salah on song with treble but Leeds contribute to a classic
THERE were moments when Marcelo Bielsa, perched on his haunches pitchside, seemed to be forcing his breath through his cheeks.
It was as though he had to remind himself to breathe, such was the intensity of focus on the contest unfolding in front of him. Well, it was breathtaking after all.
There will be many words spilt on this fascinating man in the coming months as he attempts to navigate the torrid waters of the Premier League, by sticking rigidly to the course he fashioned so successfully in the Championship. Most will be deserved.
What we learned within half an hour of a genuine classic to kick off the new
Three times Leeds went behind and their instinct was not to batten down the hatches but to push forward even more
season, was there will be no compromise from the maverick Argentine, who is the obsessive’s obsessive when it comes to attention to detail.
It is a brave man who takes on Jurgen Klopp at his own game in his own backyard, especially given the intensity Liverpool inevitably bring.
Belief
Yet it wasn’t courage which brought Bielsa to Anfield with a commitment to getting men forward that bordered on the manic. It was conviction. A belief – a true belief – that his methods can work with this Leeds team, even in the rarefied atmosphere of the Premier League.
Three equalisers are testimony to that – three times Leeds found themselves behind, and their instinct was not to batten down the hatches to prevent any more goals, but to push forward with even more intent.
The third equaliser was not just a case in point, but irrefutable evidence that Bielsa will influence the top flight just as he has influenced football throughout his impressive career.
When the ball was cleverly worked wide ide on the right right, there were five white shirts in the penalty area, ahead of the ball. Five. At Anfield. Against the Champions.
Even Manchester City would think twice about such commitment. Especially given the way they have been unpicked on the counter at Anfield. Bielsa will know all about Liverpool’s threat on the break, about the danger of their press of course, course will know how dangerous it is to push so far ahead of the ball against them.
As Klopp said, no manager in world football does more analysis.
Yet he saw something that so many other opponents have failed to exploit in the Champions. They can be casual in defence, they can make mistakes when under pressure. Those mistakes led directly or indirectly to all three visiting goals.
At times, this seemed like a fascinating match- up between Bielsa and Klopp, but actually there was so little engagement on the touchline between these pair of passionate managers that it made any comparison a purely theoretical exercise.
Even at the start, Klopp tried to
warmly welcome his opposite number, but the Leeds manager was too focused to barely register the gesture. His mind was elsewhere, as it seems to be almost constantly.
So many times, Bielsa either sat on his famous bucket, or more often crouched down at knee height, his breath ragged as he felt every kick, every delivery, unaware of the looming figure of Klopp behind him.
At the end, the man from Rosario took to pacing his technical area like a caged tiger, the sense of achievement that was so close coiling his anxiety even further. ther He knew this was a state statement from Leeds, he knew how close they were to making it.
Frantic
Yet those final frantic few minutes were the only ones which Liverpool truly dominated, and that penalty at the end was a cruel comment on the unforgiving nature of this league.
In truth, Mo Salah deserved his hat-trick for a sublimely sharp performance, which was worthy of winning any match.
But it was still painfully cruel. And in a sense sense, it still takes little away from Bielsa and what he so nearly achieved.
He is a genius, a maverick one, and we know now for sure he will enrich the Premier League.