Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has told Leeds Live that Gaetano Berardi is the best player in the air in the Whites squad, and that’s why he was used ahead of Barry Douglas yesterday.
Berardi was brought on during Leeds’ 1-0 win over Swansea City yesterday, and there was some surprise when he was favoured over Douglas.
Douglas has been in excellent form of late for Leeds, with the £3 million man (Sky Sports) really proving his quality over recent weeks.
But Bielsa says that Berardi was brought on for Leeds, as he was concerned about the damage that Andre Ayew could do.
“When I decided on the change, they were going to play with three attackers. When Douglas was at the line, we saw that Andre Ayew was a second striker and not a winger. In this moment I realised this,” Bielsa explained.
“Ayew is a great header and he was going to play in the centre and not in the side. Our best header we had on the bench at this moment was Berardi.
“I thought it was better that Berardi played close to Cooper as a third centre-back. Douglas is a full-back and has more impact opening the pitch and not narrowing the pitch.
“That was what I thought and for this reason I changed my decision when I realised this situation.”
Berardi is only 5ft 10inches, so he may not typically be the type of player associated with being brilliant in the air.
However, the Leeds defender is very aggressive and possesses a great leap.
Bielsa’s substitution definitely worked, as Leeds went on to claim a crucial three points.
Pablo Hernandez scored just before full-time to ensure that Leeds returned to Elland Road with the three points, and Bielsa’s side are now extremely close to securing promotion back to the Premier League.
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