Kapitel 66: Leeds United

Under Marcelo Bielsa coached, Leeds, which was a promoted team now ranks 7th in the English Premier League. Marcelo Bielsa managed to turn Leeds into a strong team in both defense and attack. In building attack, Calvin Phillips as a defensive midfielder is placed between defenders and other midfielders. At first glance, it looks like a disconnection between Calvin and the other midfielders, but this is done on purpose.

Leeds United did not build attacks with short passes. They were taking advantage of Calvin Phillips, who had a high accuracy of his long pass. His presence far behind was to provoke the opponent to press. As soon as the opponent presses, then Calvin could send a forward pass.

Then, there were Rodrigo and Klich's role comes in. Both are midfielders who had high posture. They played an important role in winning the aerial duel so that Calvin's long pass was not wasted.

In defense, Leeds employed a radical man-to-man system. Players were not afraid to get out of position when the opponent baited them to a different side. This tactic had a high risk, but the payoff could be worth it if executed well. Of course, this strategy had its drawbacks, especially against big clubs that had great players. In addition, Leeds also often had used high-intensity pressing, although their pressing was not as good as Liverpool's, but it was quite difficult for the opponent.

In this match, Southampton brought Kazuki as a substitute. Even though George already knew that Kazuki had recovered, but just in case, he didn't include Kazuki. Dean Smith was back as Southampton goalkeeper in this match. The combination of Hilton and Okhalo were believed to be a central defender again. Benson's left-back was filled with while on the right, Freddy was back as a starter.

In midfield, Simone and Rudolf were starting as the mainstays again. Rustan replaced Hugo on the right flank while Kounde started in this match. Upfront, Anthony finally got his chance, he was accompanied by Ryan.

On the other hand, Leeds United was using a 4-1-4-1 formation. Illan Meslier was the goalkeeper for Leeds. At defender, Luke Ayling was at right-back, while Diego Llorente was at left-back. Junior Firpo and Liam Cooper were trusted by Bielsa to be central defenders. Then, There was Calvin Phillips, who became a defensive midfielder. Raphinha and Jack Horrison filled the wing positions. In the middle, there was a combination of Rodrigo and Mateusz Klich. Then in front, Patrick Bamford became a striker as usual.

At the start of the game, the intensity of the game was not so high. Both teams were still trying to build attacks. In midfield, Ryan was very active around the pitch to help Southampton build attacks. Rodrigo and Klich pressed tirelessly in midfield to stop Ryan. The constant pressure from Leeds clearly made Southampton uncomfortable.

In the 7th minute, Simone made a long pass into the right area, but Rustan lost the duel for the ball against Diego Llorente. Leeds didn't counterattack immediately, instead, they let Calvin organize the attack. The reason was because Southampton had not been pressed at forward, overall Southampton still maintains two lines of defense.

In the 16th minute, Calvin sent a long pass into the middle. Rodrigo managed to head the pass to the side. Diego Llorente overlapped to help attack, he received the ball from Rodrigo and then carried the ball forward. After that, he gave the ball to Rapinha who was Leeds' left wing. Rapinha competed for speed against Freddy. Fortunately, Freddy managed to throw the ball first.

Until the 20th minute, no shoot on target had been created, each attack is always interrupted in the middle of the field. Neither Leeds nor Southampton, neither of them played aggressively. Leeds United had lost hope of playing in the Europa League so winning or losing in this match will not have much impact on Leeds. Southampton is in the same situation.

In this match, both teams tend to play safe. On the one hand, Southampton knew that aggressively pressing, will only have a bad impact because of the presence of Calvin Phillips. Besides that, Leeds was also afraid of Southampton's counterattack. Southampton's right side, which was occupied by Rustan and Freddy, was the most intimidating side for Leeds because both players have a very good pace.

In the 32nd minute, Southampton's counterattack came. As expected, Southampton's right side poses a frightening threat to Leeds. Rustan got past Diego Llorente and dribbled the ball into the middle of the penalty box. Rustan then gave a cut pass towards Ryan. Ryan got away from Liam Cooper and gave Anthony a through ball. The Southampton striker made a first-time shot. Unfortunately, Anthony's shot was too straight for Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier, so he could catch the ball easily.

In the 38th minute, Leeds got a free kick on the left side of the Southampton box after Benson was forced to tackle Jack Horrison. Calvin Phillips executed the free-kick. After the referee's whistle sounded, He swung his leg and kicked the ball. The ball flew curved into the middle of the penalty box. Patrick Bamford jumped and managed to head the ball. However, the ball bounced off the field.

Until the end of the first half, the scores of both teams were still zero. Southampton's match against Leeds United in the first half tends to be boring. Southampton did not create a shoot on target other than the opportunity that occurred in the 32nd minute. While Leeds failed to create a shoot on target in the first half.

During the break, George did not change his strategy. Kazuki could see that George intended to play safe until the end of the match. George's coaching career was arguably safe after Southampton was able to avoid relegation. Therefore, George's determination to win this match was not too big. Even so, that didn't mean that George didn't want to win, because, in the second halves, there's a high chance that George will substitute Anthony with Kazuki.

Meanwhile, Leeds became more aggressive than in the first half. Although Marcelo Bielsa didn't attach any importance to this match, currently Leeds was playing in their stadium, so they must try to win the game as best they can.

In the 47th minute, Leeds scored a goal. Calvin Phillips' long pass was successfully utilized by Mateusz Klich. Klich managed to head the pass into the middle of the penalty box. There, Patrick Bamford grabbed the ball and kicked it hard. The ball entered the Southampton goalpost and managed to make Southampton concede their first goal of this match.

The goal left Southampton confused, George instructed the Southampton players to play safe, but if Southampton fell behind, Southampton had no other choice but to attack Leeds.

The intensity of the match increased roughly.

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