Missing a striker, missing Bamford
Leeds United had very few issues getting into Newcastle United’s final third, but time and time again they failed to test Martin Dubravka.
During the team’s best phase of the game, through the opening half an hour, the final balls, the cut-backs from the byline were arguably there, but the man to finish the chances was not.
Daniel James arguably got the closest with his 12th-minute effort which forced a superb save from Dubravka at point-blank range, but there were too few moments like this as the match wore on.
Into the second half, the team only got worse with less and less real danger for the lacklustre visitors to deal with.
Raphinha and Jack Harrison showed decent impact as they cut inside from the flanks, but only delivered efforts or final balls which were wide, wayward or blocked.
As highly praised as James was last weekend in the capital for his pressing and link-up play with the wingers, this was another episode which left you reaching for Patrick Bamford’s medical notes.
The England international has started just five of the club’s 21 Premier League games this season. His presence has been missed and matches like Saturday’s only emphasised that fact.
Bielsa wasn’t able to cushion the blow post-match either. He was asked whether he expects his number nine to be available for Aston Villa in 18 days.
“I have my doubts,” he said. “I'm not sure. It's not just about being able to count on him, it's that he arrives in conditions to develop his game.
“A player who's gone so long without playing, it opens up a question mark, after he is healthy, how long he needs to show his regularity.”
Nobody should overreact to this one defeat, but chances and deliveries did not seem to be the problem, it was the absence of a natural striker. The James experiment has not worked on a consistent basis.
Gelhardt’s late introduction
The striker problem made the decision to introduce Joe Gelhardt so late in the game all the more confusing.
Many could have got on board with the idea of Gelhardt and Tyler Roberts starting on the bench given their recent injury recoveries and the momentum of James from West Ham, but as the second half went south there was a clamour for the teenager.
Leeds seemed to lose their ability to pick the right pass or sustain the pressure they needed upon Newcastle and something was needed to freshen the attack up.
Bielsa’s established order was always going to see him turning to Roberts in the first instance, but based on the noises rippling down the Elland Road stands you can be sure it was the younger man many wanted to see first, and earlier.
Gelhardt’s ability to lift the crowd and his teammates felt like a trait which Bielsa should have turned to earlier in the match, especially as James’s influence waned.
“I thought of Gelhardt and Tyler to do the role of James or Rodrigo, but Rodrigo only lost importance towards the end of the game,” Bielsa said when asked about Gelhardt’s late entry.
“Given James was on a caution, I thought Tyler was the first step to unbalance the game and that's how I did it.
“While [Mateusz] Klich was playing well I preferred to have three players who could score and because Joffy can nick a goal and Tyler and Rodrigo also have characteristics of a number nine.
“Football has those things. We created more chances when we had Klich and James than when Tyler and Gelhardt came on.”
Roberts wasn’t able to change much when he came on as the game seemed to press on in Newcastle’s favour, while Gelhardt barely had the time or opportunity to do a huge amount.
United were running out of ideas and the changes should have come sooner to give them a real chance of turning the match around.
Rodrigo’s return gets his ball rolling
Anyone who has watched Leeds United for any decent length of time in the past 18 months will know how long it takes for Rodrigo to find form.
The club’s record signing has been beset by injuries and illness since arriving from Valencia in 2020, only beginning to show something like his best form with weeks and weeks of starts behind him.
After barely being trusted to come on inside the first 25 minutes of the West Ham win, Bielsa was happy to leave his Spain international out there for the full 90 on Saturday.
What’s more, Rodrigo played well. Yes, he suffered like many of his teammates into the final quarter of the match, but when the team was purring in the first period, he was at the forefront of events.
After a sluggish turn from the bench in the capital, this was much more like the best Rodrigo we have seen, playing on the half-turn, nicking possession, finding teammates with dangerous passes.
There is now a two-and-a-half-week break which comes at a good time for Leeds and so many of their tired, aching or injured players.
Rodrigo’s ironically one of those who could do with anything but a break. He needs minutes and he needs rhythm.
Bielsa will no doubt have a plan for sharpening him up across the next fortnight, but at the very least this first start in nearly two months has got the process moving.
A flesh wound
Losing to a poor side below Leeds in the table at home, just as momentum was threatening to build into something like the feel-good mid-table obscurity of last season, was a bitter blow.
However, there’s no sudden need to look at the league table through your fingers. The gap to Newcastle, now 18th, remains seven points with the same number of matches played.
Burnley’s games in hand make their 20th place tough to get a read on, though nothing in their form suggests they will win any of those matches they must reschedule.
Watford suffered the biggest blow of Claudio Ranieri’s short tenure on Friday in what was effectively an implosion on their own turf against Norwich City, who had three away goals all season before visiting Vicarage Road.
Newcastle and Norwich are the big winners of the weekend. While their tails are finally up, Everton and Brentford, either side of Leeds, each lost again to keep them in and around the Whites.
The Bees and their 23 matches do stand out. They sit 14th on 23 points and everyone has games in hand on them. They look vulnerable.
Leeds are as close to Brighton & Hove Albion in ninth as they are to Newcastle in 18th. The trip to the Toffees on February 12 stands out as a highly significant opportunity before the challenging visits of Man United and Tottenham Hotspur at the back end of next month.
Newcastle’s win helps them and keep Leeds within striking distance, but it’s hardly a knockout blow.
