Key pass stat highlights goalless Mateusz Klich’s importance to Leeds

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Some of Mateusz Klich’s statistics may suggest that the Leeds United midfielder is not enjoying the best start to the season.

It seems remarkable to think that Mateusz Klich went into last season with his Leeds United future in some doubt after an extremely difficult first campaign at Elland Road.

Thomas Christiansen seemed to write the Poland international off after he made just one mistake on his full Championship debut and he spent the second-half of that campaign out on loan.

Even Marcelo Bielsa appeared to take a little time to make his mind up on the 29-year-old as he initially featured in the pre-season games that involved a number of under-23 players and those who seemed to have no future with the Whites.

But by the end of the 2018 summer window, Klich was in Bielsa’s plans, and his turnaround was soon complete as he scored the opening goal in a Championship campaign that looked destined to end with promotion.

In fact, Klich was one of the club’s most influential players as he scored 10 goals and contributed nine assists in the Championship. So it was no surprise that the former Twente man remained a key player heading into Bielsa’s second season in Yorkshire.

He has opened his account for the year with a brilliant strike in the emphatic Carabao Cup win over Salford City last month. However, with the international break allowing fans a good chance to take stock of how the season has gone so far, it may concern some that Klich is yet to score a league goal and has only provided one assist at this stage.

But for anyone who has questions about Klich’s form, they perhaps only need to look at another statistic to know how important he continues to be to Bielsa’s side.

Whoscored.com shows that Klich has completed 17 key passes this term. Only one player in the Championship has completed more, while Leeds magician Pablo Hernandez has made 16.

And it is a statistic that highlights how often Klich plays a key role in the goals that Leeds score. On the opening day, his blocked shot provided Jack Harrison with a simple chance to score the Whites’ third.

It was his assist that set up Hernandez for Leeds’ goal in the draw with Nottingham Forest. His cross at Wigan was eventually turned home by Patrick Bamford after Adam Forshaw had initially headed the ball onto the post.

Against Brentford, he was the one to slide a perfectly-weighted pass into Helder Costa before the Portuguese set up Eddie Nketiah for the winning goal.

In fact, it has only been in the last two leagues games that Klich has not provided either an assist or the pass that has led to an assist.

Only looking at his run without a goal could lead a fan to suggest that Klich is not making the same impact in the early stages of this season. But with no Leeds player making more key passes than the midfielder so far, perhaps it would actually be fair to say that his start to the season has been just as important as it was 12 months ago.