Former Leeds United defender turned popular football pundit, Rio Ferdinand, has hailed Marcelo Bielsa as an ‘unbelievable’ coach.
Leeds lost 6-2 against their bitter rivals Manchester United on Sunday, and Ferdinand has claimed that he didn’t expect such a scoreline.
He has suggested that Bielsa won’t change his philosophy, but at the same time has expressed his surprise at the nature of Leeds’ defeat at Old Trafford.
Leeds came to Old Trafford on the back of a 5-2 victory against Newcastle United, and then received a taste of their own medicine on Sunday.
Their expansive style of football may have played into the hands of United, which raises eyebrows about how Leeds approach things under the Argentine boss.
In fact, several pundits have discussed and at times criticised how Leeds approached the game, and Ferdinand also feels that the Whites should have a plan B in place.
“Bielsa, who is talked about as an unbelievable coach. I went and watched him coach his team and I was blown away, to be honest with you,” said Ferdinand on his Youtube channel.
“He’s got certain ideals that he lives by and he’ll live and die by. He ain’t going to change for no-one. You have got to respect that. Yes, you need a plan b. I do always say that I do always love to see a plan b, at times.
“But when you have a system that you know works for you. You are used to it. You have got it down to a tee and you feel if we get it right then we should beat a lot of teams.”
As a result of the defeat, Leeds have now lost three times in their last four games.
While Leeds are an entertaining side to watch, what is really frustrating is that they are conceding goals very easily. In fact, they are repeatedly conceding goals from set-pieces, and are hardly learning from their mistakes.
However, that’s how they play. It has brought them to the Premier League, and they won’t change their style. The Whites will face Burnley next on the Boxing day, and they can end up ripping the Clarets apart.
Roy Keane has made a point that the key thing for Leeds this season is survival, and they’ve done enough to ensure that they would not get relegated at the end of the season.
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