Biesla stumbles upon formation to revive Leeds

Raphinha could not disguise his views on the tackle that caused him to leave Elland Road on crutches, taking aim at referee Robert Jones not long after the final whistle of Leeds United’s draw.

“The best referees are in the Premier [League],” the Brazilian wrote sarcastically on a social media platform. He added that he had not suffered a serious injury and hoped to be back soon, but further scans will determine whether he misses games as Marcelo Bielsa’s team look to climb away from their position just above the relegation zone.

Regardless of whether Raphinha plays against Norwich City on Sunday, Bielsa has stumbled into a formation that could work at Carrow Road. Joe Gelhardt came off the bench and changed the game for Leeds and has staked a claim for a starting place in a 4-4-2 system.

The formation is using the players

Bielsa has fit in the best way possible. With Patrick Bamford out, two strikers gives them numbers and variation. Gelhardt should be given his chance as he looked fearless on his home debut, earning the equalising penalty for Rodrigo Moreno, who would be his partner.

Dan James started as a striker, but looked more comfortable when he switched to the left wing. Jack Harrison is his other winger option if Raphinha needs time to recover.

The only other Premier League game the Brazilian has missed this season was the defeat by Southampton, Leeds’s worst performance of the campaign. Bielsa used a threeman defence then but Liam Cooper and Diego Llorente in a flat back four were effective against Wolves. Kalvin Phillips was on the bench and is closing in on a return. He slots into central midfield and usually screens the defence in a 4-1-4-1, but Gelhardt’s cameo makes him difficult to leave out. Against Daniel Farke’s team, who are conceding 2.5 goals per game on average, it would be a chance to unleash all Bielsa’s attacking options.

Conor Coady, the Wolves captain, highlighted the difficulties posed by Leeds’ style. “It’s hard to adapt to their way of playing and try to not get caught up in a basketball match with people running everywhere,” he said. “We had to try to be clever, compact and solid, and we did it for the majority of the game.”