Bielsa impressed by Leeds ace v Blackburn even though ‘he didn’t attack a lot’
Barry Douglas made his first Leeds United start since January when he was selected to play at left-back against Blackburn on Saturday.
The 30-year-old left, who is now in the final year of his contract at Elland Road, hasn’t had too many chances to show his worth this season due to injury issues and him being down the pecking order.
However he did have a rare chance to shine at Ewood Park and it seems he grasped his opportunity with full commitment as he impressed not only the fans, but also managed Marcelo Bielsa.
“In defence he had a good match, an efficient match,” Bielsa said, as quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“We were playing out, he is always correct. And even though he didn’t attack a lot, he chose the right moments to attack.”
Douglas has not really hit the heights that were expected of him when he joined Leeds from Wolves in 2018.
The Scottish full-back had the season of his career at Molineux as he helped Wolves win promotion to the Premier League but just hasn’t adapted to Bielsa’s system as well as he had to Nuno Espirito Santo’s.
Can we see Douglas staying at Leeds next season? It’s really hard to say because at his age, he might want to play regular first-team football and if the Whites go up, that’s going to be difficult for him.
Stuart Dallas and Ezgjan Alioski seem to be Bielsa’s first and second-choice left-backs at the moment and the only reason Douglas started versus Blackburn was because Dallas was injured and Alioski was covering Helder Costa.
We want to see Doulgas do well. He seems like a great bloke and he does have the ability to shine in matches, as he did on Saturday.
But that might not be enough to suggest he’s a viable left-back option in the top-flight.
There’s a reason Wolves sold him to Leeds, after all.
In other Leeds United news, fans ripped into this player for his performance at Blackburn despite the win.