How do you reflect on that performance? Did it seem a poor one in all areas of the pitch from your side?
"I think we lost it in the first 20 minutes. We created enough chances, half chances, and chances to be 1-0 or 2-0 up. Then we lost the discipline, the repetition of what we wanted to do and what we did okay in the first 20 minutes. Instead of 2-0, it became an even match and in that even match, we gave two goals away that were cheap and unnecessary.
"And then the game is almost done because you lift the spirit, the belief. In the second half, we tried, but it's the same story: we had deliveries, half chances, shots, but we can't score, and we concede from a half chance."
Is the lack of a striker a problem when you have those half chances?
"No, no."
Do you simply feel Leeds outfought you
"No."
You knew what to expect from Leeds and highlighted the importance of playing through mistakes. Why couldn't the players do that today?
"Because we scored an own goal, gave an awfully cheap set-piece away, and conceded from it. This has nothing to do with pressing, running fewer kilometres, nothing to do with the style of Leeds. We should not confuse these things.
"We were able to cope with the style, be the better team, be one or two goals ahead, but we give an own goal away, and the set-piece has nothing to do with anything. From there, it's 2-0, and the belief for Leeds is on top level and our body language, even in the ten minutes before, was not what it was like in the last match.
"That's how I felt it. It's surprising because you can't be frustrated when Leeds make you do mistakes, this happens, but I don't see the connection that we lost due to the style of Leeds. We knew what was coming, and the two goals that cost us the match had nothing to do with the style."
Can I ask you about Conor Gallagher's full debut today?
"Better not. It's not the day to talk about individual performances."
Does this highlight the need to get another midfielder?
"Another midfielder? We have Jorginho, N'Golo Kante, we have Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher, Mateo Kovacic…."
But Kante and Kovacic are injured, aren't they?
"They're injured, yes, it's a problem. But they will come back. They've not disappeared."
With Edouard Mendy's mistake, do you speak to him in private about it?
"He knows himself. With these kinds of mistakes, I don't think we need to speak a lot. He knows himself that this was a mistake, and honestly, this has nothing to do with protection or no protection. Everybody in the world sees the mistake. It's a huge mistake at a crucial time of the match. It does not help, and he's the one that is the most disappointed because it cost us a lot today."
Why do these results and performances – such as West Brom, Brentford and today – continue to happen?
"I don't know. I just try to help to create chances and not give away chances. I think the chances we created chances. The chances that we allowed were not real goalscoring chances. I think set pieces are something we need to defend better urgently. We need to reach the same level as last season because it is not good at the moment.
"The first is an own goal (mistake), but my job, in particular, is to create chances and create a structure to create chances, touches in the box and big chances. And that we cannot allow big chances, and I think we did both. I think even if we do both, we manage to lose 3-0. It is tough to analyse, but it is a fact."
Is it a mentality issue?
"I think you do, all of you, make the mistake, and I feel it that they run 11km more, and we lose 3-0. It is a set piece, and a huge mistake and only one team should have led 1-0, and that was us. So everybody knows that they run more. It is nothing to do with mentality.
"I don't think it is the mentality that Edou doesn't take the right decision. I think it is mentality in set pieces at the moment. But not the big mentality as a headline, please. The mentality in set-pieces is not good enough. Mentality comes down to discipline and doing what we should do and what makes us strong in the first 15-20 minutes.
"It was enough to kill the game and bring it into a direction where it was last season. If they scored the opening chance did what they did, and a win is possible. Maybe you don't believe me, and I don't see a connection that we have a huge mentality problem and that we are not ready for what's coming."
Thoughts on the red card for Kalidou Koulibaly?
"It is a bit of a reflection of frustration, and it cannot happen. We cannot get frustrated in the Premier League. It is a pure joy to play games in an atmosphere like this. We should just do it and accept it. It is not okay, and it is not good."
Has anything changed in terms of signing a defender?
"I don't know. We need to wait. The transfer period is still open. It gets later and later, and we need to focus on what we have and what we can do. We can obviously play at a high level, but we lost track when there was no need. We were not forced to lose track. Everything was going well. We can win with this team in Leeds, everything was going well, and we had goalscoring opportunities. It went the other way, and I think it was more our fault than anyone else's credit."
Shocked that this performance came off the back of a very strong one against Tottenham?
"No, I am not shocked. I am just analysing a match, and there's no time to be shocked. For 20 minutes, we did it. But then we did stuff that cost us the dominance and chance to create more chances. But still, we did not invite pressure or create chances. We were not under pressure or in chaos.
"I can see why you think this is the story, but for me, it is not the story. We did not lose discipline or were all over the place. We didn't lose discipline against the ball, but with the ball, we weren't disciplined enough. We were not sharp enough after 20 minutes, but it was not like we couldn't cope with anything. It is the set piece and own goal that was the story today. To analyse bigger things is difficult."
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