Leeds were cruising to victory against Cardiff prior to Marcelo Bielsa’s decision to take off Gaetano Berardi and bring on Pascal Struijk, a change which Noel Whelan believes proved costly.
What did he say?
The Whites looked comfortable for large portions of the match last weekend, even maintaining their dominance for some time despite conceding on the hour, though a late flurry in the final ten minutes proved their undoing as the encounter ended 3-3.
Struijk was at fault for the equaliser, too. It was a brilliant flicked pass from Lee Tomlin to find Robert Glatzel but the young defender was caught out of position, with the striker exploiting the space behind him to fire beyond Kiko Casilla.
An experienced defender like Berardi may have been able to keep the Bluebirds out, or as Whelan suggests, the Argentine could have really shored things up by deploying three central defenders on the pitch.
Either way, the former Leeds man believes Bielsa was at fault for the points dropped. Speaking to Football Insider, he said:
“I have no idea why Struijk played instead of Casey. The young man had looked so impressive against Huddersfield.
“To bring Struijk on against Cardiff for Berardi was baffling. It was a mistake by Marcelo Bielsa.
“In my opinion, the substitution was wrong. He should have kept Berardi on and gone to three at the back to try and weather the storm.”
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Learning from mistakes
Bielsa has been largely correct in his decision making and use of players this season.
Helder Costa is an example of that. He started off the campaign slowly and didn’t start regularly, but he is now coming into his own and proving that he can be an influential player for his side – scoring two and assisting one in his last five games.
The Leeds boss may feel his youngsters can fulfil a similar responsibility, and although the only way to find that out is by giving them game time, he still has to be careful in regard to the situations when they play.
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Bringing on a 20-year-old who had only made his debut for the club a few days prior was always a risky choice, and the fact it backfired massively means Bielsa should treat it as a warning, and be careful not to repeat the error.
With that in mind, Whelan’s suggestion that bringing on a defender to play alongside Berardi and Ben White is probably the best call he could have made.
White and Struijk are only 22 and 20 respectively. Neither provided the leadership necessary to organise the defence and the manner of Cardiff’s goals showed that they were too easy to roll over.
Meanwhile, Leeds fans have been discussing whether Lyle Taylor would be a good January addition after the striker rejected a contract offer from Charlton.
