Speaking on the Wrighty’s House Podcast, Ian Wright has been waxing lyrical about Marcelo Bielsa’s ability to adapt against Manchester United over the weekend.
The Argentine struggled to cope with United at Old Trafford earlier this season, but this time around he wasn’t going to be making the same mistakes.
Wright had heard people saying that Bielsa was a one-dimensional manager and that he couldn’t adapt, but Wright believes the Whites’ showing against Man United proved everyone wrong.
“Just a quick one, did you see the Leeds vs Man United game? Just quickly. Simply because I love the way Leeds, remember they got beat for six up there, doing this man-marking thing and following people around. People were talking about Bielsa being one-dimensional and that he couldn’t adapt, but the other day, it was a masterpiece,” Wright said.
The ex-Arsenal striker then spoke about a text message he sent to Kalvin Phillips, before going back to speak about Leeds’ performance against United.
“I think he thought they were going to do the same thing, I don’t think they realised they were going to upgrade, because Kalvin Phillips only followed Bruno Fernandes in certain places, but last time he followed him to the point where it was ridiculous, it made Kalvin Phillips look like he wasn’t an intelligent footballer, but he is all he was doing was following orders.”
It’s very rare that you hear someone call a managerial performance in a 0-0 draw a masterpiece, but that’s the type of gaffer Bielsa is.
The Argentine showed tactical acumen and intelligence to nullify Manchester United at Elland Road, and while his team didn’t score, to turn a 6-2 loss into a 0-0 draw in the next fixture is a real achievement.
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