MOT View: Bielsa rattled, 26y/o way off the pace – 3 things learned about Leeds v Notts Forest
Leeds United fell to yet another defeat on Saturday evening, losing 2-0 against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Whites fans are starting to get more restless in West Yorkshire, with Fulham’s 1-0 win at Blackburn putting them equal on points in the build-up to the crunch clash against Brentford on Tuesday.
Marcelo Bielsa’s men struggled to create much, with the best chance falling to Liam Cooper – something that summed up the disappointment after Sammy Ameobi and Tyler Walker scored way too easily.
The frustration was there to see from the players to the fans, all the way to Bielsa. This can’t go on for much longer, with this run of form potentially being the main reason that Leeds miss out on automatic promotion for the second consecutive season.
Here are three things learned about the Whites against Nottingham Forest…
1. Bielsa and squad rattled
Everyone was disappointed with the result, but usually, Bielsa is the man to put an end to that after the game. Saturday was different, the South American was flustered and snapped at some questions as he just couldn’t come up with an answer behind the defeat, once again blaming himself. A big talking point was the post-match interview of Luke Ayling, fans took to Twitter to point out that the confidence had been dragged out of the players – not a good sign with important games against Brentford and Bristol City this week.
2. Costa way off the pace
Helder Costa was once again shocking against Forest. The Portuguese international is completing 90 minutes every single week without making much of an impact. It is hard to even recognise that Costa is playing, it is a surprise to even see him mentioned. The 26-year-old is stealing a living at this moment in time, and the £15million price tag in the summer is starting to look like Wolves have pulled the wool over our eyes. Costa had one shot at the City Ground but lost the ball more times than he completed dribbles according to WhoScored – a worrying stat that is starting to pop up more times than not.
3. Phillips return will be critical
Bielsa has struggled to find a suitable replacement for Kalvin Phillips in the past couple of weeks. Ben White kept getting mentioned as the man to jump in, but at times against Forest, he would be in defence – meaning that Stuart Dallas was once again running around like a headless chicken. Phillips returning against Brentford will bring much-needed structure to the Whites, and that could be a turning point between now and the end of the season – something that is critical right now.
In other Leeds United news, Jermaine Jenas has shared his verdict on the 2-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest