MOT View: Bielsa must avoid previous Leeds mistake v Notts Forest as Mills’ fears revealed
Sitting in the stands at Elland Road as Leeds United came back to beat Millwall 3-2, there was a sense this could be the start of something special.
Only a matter of days later, the Whites came crashing back to the earth with a 1-0 defeat against Wigan. Marcelo Bielsa couldn’t understand how it happened, but he made clear mistakes in that game.
Outside of his decision to leave out Jean-Kevin Augustin, Kalvin Phillips was serving the second game of his suspension. For no reason whatsoever, Bielsa decided to revert back to the side that struggled immensely in the first-half against Milwall.
Ben White excelled in midfield in the second half of that win, but for some reason, he moved the Brighton loanee back into defence. That led to Luke Ayling moving to right-back, and Stuart Dallas continuing in midfield in the Wigan game – a position he has looked shocking in for the past two months.
Danny Mills has commented on the absence of Phillips in the upcoming clash against Nottingham Forest, claiming the home side could take advantage of it.
“With Phillips still suspended, that’s a bit of a blow in the midfield,” he told Football Insider.
“They’ve had a week, they looked a bit jaded against Wigan, it’s a huge game, they battered Forest early on in the season, absolutely battered them and conceded a poor goal, that was a scruffy goal as well.
“It depends on who plays in midfield, what he does in that area. He’s obviously going to have to switch that around without Kalvin Phillips who is vital. As much as Dallas did alright the other day, they have huge holes at times.”
Leeds dominated the second period against Millwall, and it was simple why – the changes made by Bielsa. White was in midfield, Ayling moved to central defence, and that allowed Dallas to move back into his preferred full-back role.
Looking at WhoScored’s average player rating tracker in that game, the Leeds squad only overtook Millwall’s after the hour mark at Elland Road. There is no surprise that came along after Bielsa decided to make the changes around that mark.
So, it came as more of a surprise to see that the decision was made to fall back into the exact same system that Leeds struggled in for the game against Wigan.
Mills is spot on to point out that the absence of Phillips against Nottingham Forest could be more critical, with the home side having been in great form recently. That also shares that Bielsa must not make the same mistakes that he has made in the past couple of weeks.
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