Growing Koch confidence
Stuart Dallas at right-back does not need a double-take. Luke Ayling at centre-back is fine. Pascal Struijk is best as a centre-back. Adam Forshaw brings plenty to the party as an orthodox central midfielder.
The main question Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United starting line-up begged was at its heart in defensive midfield, where Robin Koch had been chosen instead of Forshaw.
Those aforementioned position calls are neither controversial nor without success, but the jury is still out on Koch in the Kalvin Phillips role, especially when Forshaw is ready and waiting to play there.
The personnel Bielsa had chosen suggested the most likely path would put Dallas in the centre, Forshaw deep and Ayling at full-back with Koch at home in front of Illan Meslier.
“Number eight position is a very important position for us because the eight has to defend less, but similar to the defensive mid and has to attack less than the offensive midfielder, but similar,” Bielsa said when pushed on this topic.
“Forshaw is a player who has that virtue, he defends like a defensive mid and gives dynamism to the offensive game.”
It didn’t really explain why he wanted Forshaw there rather than Dallas, for example, but the bottom line has to suggest a growing confidence in Koch’s play as a defensive midfielder.
Bielsa has always said the Germany international would be looked at as an option there in Phillips’s absence, but he’s not had that breakthrough, reassuring performance there as yet.
Harrison exempt from praise
Jack Harrison scores the first hat-trick of his professional career and plays so well Bielsa does not even deem it necessary to wax lyrical about him.
You can only hope the winger would have smiled wryly when he saw Bielsa’s comments or lack thereof.
“The three forwards complemented themselves in a very harmonious way,” the head coach said.
“Raphinha improved [Daniel] James and Harrison with the types of balls he gave them.
“Harrison scored three goals so that exempts me from having to make a commentary [on him] and James opened up spaces constantly.
“It was a very, very, big effort and was part of the service to obtain advantages offensively.”
Harrison has rarely been without his critics across the distinguished three-and-a-half seasons of service he has given at Elland Road. Few players have had better availability under Bielsa.
The former Manchester City man takes care of his body and rarely finds himself unavailable to the head coach. Amid the current injury crisis, it’s a statistic worth repeating.
Beyond that, Harrison’s struggled to hit the heights consistently in the final third which class him as a reliable weapon in this Leeds armoury.
In his 147 appearances for the club, he has 24 goals and 21 assists. That’s one goal involvement in every three to four games.
By contrast, Raphinha averages one goal or assist every other game. That’s the scale Harrison’s working within.
While his final ball or cutting edge can frustrate, his work rate and diligence on the field has never been sniffed at. He is one of the few wingers with those physical attributes to do what Bielsa needs week in, week out.
He finally had one of those special days in the sun on Sunday. Those who saw him emerging as one of the finest young talents in the US always felt he would have a future as a striker. His goals in the capital were a glimpse into the sharpshooting they were talking about.
In the modern game, wingers are measured by their goals and assists. The likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are perfect examples of how the role’s influence has changed.
Harrison’s third goal was dripping in quality and gave him an ideal step forward from the foundation he set up one league game earlier against Burnley.
Perhaps Harrison can finally lighten the load on Raphinha in the final third.
Bate’s learning lessons quickly
Anyone with half an eye on Leeds under Bielsa will know substituted substitutes are more common at United than most clubs in the UK.
Tyler Roberts and Rodrigo have memorably been hooked despite starting matches from the bench in the past.
Roberts was perhaps the most well known because of how apologetic Bielsa had been at the time, even holding the entire squad in front of a lengthy public apology to the forward in 2019/20.
Lewis Bate couldn’t hide his disappointment when he saw his number raised in the second half for Rodrigo’s long-awaited return to action.
Despite seeing just 43 minutes of play himself, Bielsa saw fit to bring the debutant off. Thankfully, an explanation was forthcoming post-match.
“The sectors of the pitch where it was most difficult to move were the positions which [Manuel] Lanzini and [Declan] Rice occupied,” he said.
“Rice is an extraordinary player, who defends in one box and attacks in the other. Lanzini is a creative player, with lots of talent to unbalance.
“Those that played in that sector of the pitch, [Mateusz] Klich, Forshaw, Rodrigo, Bate, had to make a big effort so the game didn't go to their side.
“And I didn't think Rodrigo could do that work for an hour, and I decided to share the minutes between him and Bate.”
Bate may have been stewing on that particular lesson in the dressing room after the game, but Bielsa's message tells him all he needs to know. It was nothing to do with his performance.
Struijk shows why he’s been missed
Struijk was outstanding upon his return to the starting line-up. There were some understandable debates to be had on whether he would be rushed back at the first opportunity without any senior or under-23 minutes since November 30.
Leo Hjelde had done well enough to suggest he could be trusted to start again if Struijk needed to be eased in from the bench, but the 22-year-old was almost flawless.
Michail Antonio barely had a kick. Struijk would end the match with more successful tackles (five) than anyone else on the field.
On the speed of Struijk’s return, Bielsa said: “That (his little preparation time) increases how much you value his performance.
“There are players like Pascal and [Liam] Cooper, like Koch, that can get close to their best version quickly and there's players, especially those creative ones, who need a little bit more time to impose their virtues.
“For the defenders, the defensive mids, that match fitness, they acquire it a lot quicker.
“For the players out wide, or those in the middle, or creative ones, it takes a little more time.
“That's why the return of Tyler, [Patrick] Bamford, Rodrigo, [Joe] Gelhardt is going to take a little bit longer than Cooper, Phillips, Koch, Pascal, who are centre-backs.”
If Forshaw fails to recover from the injury which forced him off on Sunday, Struijk’s return will carry an even higher value as he partners a returning Diego Llorente. That gives Koch the freedom to continue as the defensive midfielder.
It’s okay to look
For the first time in what feels like months, the Premier League table really isn’t making too nasty reading for Leeds fans.
Back-to-back wins for the first time this season immediately opens up the next tranche of teams above the Whites while burying those who seek to hook them in from behind.
Burnley are 11 points back, but with three games in hand. Newcastle, the next opponent, are 10 points back with no games in hand. Norwich have played one game more than Leeds, but have nine fewer points to show for it.
A gap had been established with the win over Burnley, but finally, there was a shift up the ladder with Sunday’s win. Everton’s tale of woe opened up the 15th slot for the Whites.
Win the game in hand they have on Brentford, Southampton and Crystal Palace, and Leeds would jump the lot of them to 25 points and mid-table obscurity.
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