Youri Tielemans honestly stated to beIN SPORTS 11 (02/11/20 at 10:10 pm) that Leeds United are a ‘very difficult’ team to play against.
The 23-year-old, who netted a brace on Monday night at Elland Road, shared how his Leicester City side tried to exploit Leeds’ ‘very open’ style by hitting them on the counter.
Usually, it’s Leeds who are associated with a fast-paced and on the front foot start, but it was the Foxes who were all over their opponents during the early stages to go 2-0 up – and whilst the home side pulled a goal back early in the second half, Brendan Rodgers men were too hot to handle on the break as the Whites chased more goals.
Tielemans, who was a £40 million signing for the Midlands side from Monaco [Guardian], was one of the stars of the show for his side and he shared what it was like coming up against this Leeds side who ‘run a lot’.
“They are very open and we try to hit them on the counter-attack,” said Tielemans. “It was very important to get the first goal and try to manage the game and then make a second one quickly.
“Then try to control the game even though it is very difficult and very hard because they run a lot, so we were very strong defensively.
“They had a couple of chances but I felt that we were very strong – they get an early goal in the second half and we just have to stay strong and try to not concede a second one. They had a good moment and then on the counter-attack, we tried to break and to score a goal to keep us a bit safer.”
One thing that cannot be argued about Leeds is that if you are going to beat them then they are going to make you work for it.
Whilst Leeds do leave spaces open in-behind because of their high press and man-to-man marking system, it also makes them utterly dangerous and hard to handle going forward.
Leicester deserved the victory on Monday night, but as Leeds proved last time out against Aston Villa, they are capable of doing the very same thing to opposition teams also.
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