Bielsa decision to start Mateusz Klich cost Leeds against Aston Villa
Leeds United looked uninspired in their 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa and Marcelo Bielsa made a big mistake in his starting line-up.
The decision to play Mateusz Klich was a risk as he had to undergo a late fitness test prior to kick-off.
That meant he was not 100% fit so it was less than ideal to start him from the off.
Added to that, he did not play particularly well against Southampton and has looked a little out of sorts since the beginning of the calendar year.
He was dropped for the match against Newcastle and hauled off at half-time at Arsenal – on Tuesday he managed a WhoScored rating of just 6.2.
We understand there are injury problems, but Bielsa made a big mistake by deploying Klich in midfield.
It forced Stuart Dallas to left-back when Gjanni Alioski could have performed that role adequately.
Dallas has been superb in the middle of the park for the last few games, capping off a wonderful display against Southampton with a well-taken goal.
He provides energy and intensity and that is key to our pressing style, which never really got going against Villa.
Klich also failed to deliver, and should have been taken off after he picked up a yellow card around the hour mark.
According to SofaScore, the 29-year-old won just three out of the 12 duels he participated in and failed to make a single interception.
He was also dribbled past on three occasions, which hints that he was not sharp enough due to his slight fitness issue.
The Poland international also let his teammates down by gifting away possession 19 times.
We chased the game from minute five and needed to move to ball quickly to break down an organised Villa backline.
Klich’s sloppiness ruled that out, and it meant Jack Harrison and Pablo Hernandez also struggled to change the game when they came on.
It was a performance to forget and if it not for injuries to key men we would seriously think about dropping the midfielder.
In other Leeds United news, Leeds ace who fails to float Bielsa’s boat expected to exit in summer – Phil Hay.