Micah Richards has urged the Leeds United players to ‘take some responsibility’ during the difficult moments when Marcelo Bielsa’s tactics are not working, via his Daily Mail column.
The Whites left Richards stunned on Wednesday night when they attempted to man-mark Liverpool at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp’s side were able to run riot to win 6-0 after picking gaps in the Elland Road natives’ line-up. As evident when Joel Matip strolled through to score.
Liverpool already led 1-0 when Matip saw his chance to burst up the field from his centre-back role. Six Leeds players stood touch-tight to their opposite number, to leave acres of space free. Pascal Struijk then had to come out to close him down, but left space in behind.
As no other Leeds player reacted to Struijk trying to shut Matip down, a quick one-two with Mohamed Salah left him in the box to double Liverpool’s lead. It was a similar story for the Whites against Manchester United last Sunday, too, as the visitors toyed with Bielsa’s men.
Diego Llorente was too eager to stick word-for-word to Bielsa’s man-marking that he stuck with Cristiano Ronaldo as the Portuguese ran deep. His run left space for Bruno Fernandes to exploit and Robin Koch followed, while Adam Forshaw also stuck with Paul Pogba’s run.
Richards urges Leeds stars ‘take some responsibility’ or risk relegation
Leeds’ refusal to ditch their man-marking system when Manchester United and Liverpool found ways to get through stunned Richards. He now urges the Whites to realise when it is time to try something different. Otherwise, he has fears for their Premier League status.
“I have been backing Leeds all year and made it clear that I don’t believe they will get relegated, but I was shocked by the naivety they showed at Anfield on Wednesday,” he wrote. “What were they thinking in trying to go toe-to-toe with Liverpool?
“Bielsa has been fantastic and his orders are specific but the players need to take some responsibility in difficult moments and keep things tight when they are under siege. They cannot afford to keep giving cheap goals away as it will only see them go one way.”
Leeds face their third Champions League-chasing side in a week in Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. They welcome Spurs to Elland Road sitting 15th in the table, three-points from the relegation zone. They have also played two more games than Burnley in 18th-place.
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