MOT View: Leeds fans can expect more from rarely-seen youngster with Bielsa clearly impressed
Leeds United youngster Ian Poveda finally got his first taste of Championship action for the Whites in the 2-0 defeat against Cardiff City.
After signing from Manchester City in January, the winger had to settle for minutes with the under-23s but started to impress in training during lockdown.
Poveda came on for 13 minutes in the Welsh capital and caught the eye with his impressive cameo on the right-hand side ahead of Stuart Dallas.
Marcelo Bielsa delivered his verdict on the 20-year-old, admitting that the youngster didn’t disrupt the style of his squad after coming on.
“The minute he plays, even if he didn’t imbalance his side, he made some contribution to the play,” he said via Leeds Live.
“If you consider the match we were playing, with the opponent close to their box. It’s more difficult to attack, but he has some good capacity to adapt himself to reduced spaces. Agile player.”
What impressed us the most about Poveda is that he didn’t overthink things. The youngster could have tried too hard to make an impact, but he did the simple things well and tried to take on his man when possible.
The winger made one tackle, and only lost possession once with the Whites pushing to get back into the game in the final third [WhoScored].
Poveda found space down the right often as Leeds looked to switch the play. In this example, two Cardiff men close him down quickly.
That allowed Dallas to create an overlap and also highlights space in behind for players such as Tyler Robert to exploit – valuable spaces that Leeds often use to their advantage.
Poveda looked dangerous on the ball, and his agility was clear to see and impressed Bielsa – we can definitely expect to see more of the 20-year-old in the next eight games.
In other Leeds United news, reliable journalist has shared whether Pablo Hernandez will be able to feature against Fulham