MOT Tactics: One player’s struggles continue v N’castle – where Leeds are going wrong
Leeds United may have come away with all three points on Wednesday, but the worrying trend of conceding from corners continued at Elland Road.
Newcastle managed to get back into the game after Ciaran Clark scored from a second-half corner.
Leeds simply did not get near him and some clever off-the-ball work from Callum Wilson prevented Ezgjan Alioski from clearing the ball.
With so much being made of Leeds’ troubles in the air, it is clear to see that teams are beginning to target the club’s biggest weakness.
Leeds need to solve this rapidly before it spirals out of control and that starts with Manchester United.
While Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have struggled for consistency this season, they pose a huge threat to Leeds because of their inability to defend set-pieces.
As per WhoScored, United have scored seven times this season from either a cross or a corner.
Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matic and Harry Maguire – who all stand at 6ft 2in or higher – could all feature for the home side, giving them a sizeable aerial threat.
Where is it going wrong for Leeds?
Leeds typically deploy a mix of both man-marking and zonal marking when it comes to defending corners.
Patrick Bamford, as he did against Newcastle, will take a free role in front of Illan Meslier and there is also a player preventing a short option.
As well as this, typically one of the wingers will take up a position in the corner of the penalty area, offering further protection to any short corners.
At any one time, Leeds can have as many as four players operating zonally, which can make it easier for opposition teams to exploit the lack of height by simply having fewer players to match up against.
There is an argument to say that Leeds simply do not have the physical presence to match some teams in the Premier League.
Beyond Robin Koch and Diego Llorente – both of which are currently injured – Luke Ayling is the tallest outfield player in the squad at 6ft.
The types of goals that Leeds are conceding from corners this season are varied, but there are some consistencies throughout.
The problems could start with Meslier himself and the starting position that he typically takes up. Below we see some of the positions he finds himself in just as the corner kick is taken.
Not only does it look unorthodox for Meslier, but the Frenchman is also never truly set in one position and consistently backtracks to his goalline at speed just as the ball is delivered.
By neither fully committing to attacking a cross or defending his line, Meslier finds himself in what can only be described as ‘no man’s land’.
Another common theme of where Leeds can be undone is decoy runs to the near post.
Goals against West Ham, Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton (albeit disallowed) shared some degree of similarity, in that crosses were looped into the back post.
Below, we see the build-up to Soucek’s goal against Leeds, which shows a great example of how runners towards the near post are causing the Whites all sorts of problems.
The run from Fabian Balbuena drags Raphinha off the post, catches the attention of Bamford and occupies Phillips, who struggles to follow him. One run alone takes three players out of the game.
Declan Rice remains stationary and occupies a similar space around the near post, while Angelo Ogbonna arrives just behind him slightly later.
By the time Soucek makes contact with the ball, the decoy West Ham runners have done their job and given him a one-on-one battle with Stuart Dallas.
Standing three inches taller than Dallas, it was always going to be an impossible task for the Leeds man.
Bielsa is not one to change his ways, but if Leeds continue in this vein, then he will be forced to address something on the way the Whites defend from corners.
Perhaps by not mixing a zonal and man-marking approach, the Whites can claw back an element of control that they seem to have lost when defending in the Premier League.
Some of their problems can be attributed more simply. Be that either players not following runners or being smart enough with their movement inside the penalty box.
This is a learning curve for Leeds and it is one they need to address quickly or Manchester United will be the next team to pounce.
In other Leeds United news, Partner of Pablo Hernandez posts message to Leeds fans after bust-up v Bielsa seemingly settled