Concerns mounting for Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa

The Whites followed a 3-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur with a far more worrying loss by the same scoreline, at Crawley Town in the FA Cup. On Saturday, they were beaten again, 1-0 by a Brighton and Hove Albion side who had not won since November.

Whilst the defeat was concerning, the manner of it was more so. Bielsa pointed out Leeds could have taken something from the game as Brighton tried to sit on Neal Maupay’s 18th-minute goal, dropping deep and allowing the hosts 67 per cent of possession on a sub-Premier League standard Elland Road pitch.

Although Leonardo Trossard’s effort cannoned off Luke Ayling and onto the crossbar later in the first half, goalkeeper Kiko Casilla had little to do in his first meaningful league appearance since last season’s eight-match ban for using racist language towards then-Charlton Athletic forward Jonathan Leko.

But with Kalvin Phillips suspended, a below-par Rodrigo substituted in the second half, Patrick Bamford unable to turn a couple of half-chances into anything more, Raphinha ineffective and Mateusz Klich’s poor form continuing, Leeds could muster just seven shots from their possession, two on target – the same figures as for relegation-threatened Brighton.

“It worries me,” said Bielsa when asked about his team’s start to the year. “Could the response be any different?

“To have lost three games without scoring is not something that can happen without worry.

“They were all different games. Against Tottenham although we lost, the performance wasn’t a bad one but in the last two – in the Cup and on Saturday – we didn’t defend well and we didn’t manage to attack well either.

“We defended below our resources and we attacked below our possibilities.

“The fluidity to attack is not the same in the last two games to what we’ve been used to.”

Given how some players have struggled to get over the effects of Covid-19, some are worried it may be having a longer-term effect on Rodrigo, who caught the virus in October. With first-choice goalkeeper Illan Meslier simply declared “unwell”, it is inevitable people will wonder if he has become the latest member of the squad to contract it.

In the case of Rodrigo, though, Bielsa thinks his downturn in form is coincidental. The Spaniard was outstanding in Leeds’ last win, ending 2020 with a 5-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion he scored in.

“He has recovered his physical level,” the coach replied when asked if Rodrigo was still not at full tilt. “The attacking output of the team has reduced, not Rodrigo’s necessarily.”

The club record signing was on the sharp end of Ayling’s tongue for his work-rate late in the first half and was substituted shortly after the hour for Tyler Roberts.

Meslier posted on Instagram before Saturday’s kick-off to say that he was “recovering well”.

Premier League clubs are not obliged to reveal who has contracted Covid-19 and Leeds are one of those studiously trying to protect the confidentiality of their players, but Bielsa did reveal the diagnosis of Meslier’s illness had not come at the last minute.

The 20-year-old Frenchman had been an ever-present in this season’s Premier League, but did not play in the FA Cup defeat at Crawley. Casilla was at fault for the opening two goals that day, prompting an impassioned defence from Bielsa in the media last week, but was barely tested by the Seagulls in his first league outing since the Championship dead rubber at Derby County which followed Leeds winning the title last season.

If indeed he is suffering from coronavirus, Meslier’s isolation period will be over before Leeds play again. He has until January 26 to recover from his ailment with Leeds’ midweek game at home to Southampton postponed to allow the Saints to play their outstanding FA Cup third-round tie against Shrewsbury Town, and the following weekend set aside for the fourth round.

Their next game is against Newcastle United.

The poor pitch was another talking point and chief executive Angus Kinnear revealed in the programme there will be a “full reconstruction” in the summer, 12 months behind schedule.

“We had intended to do this last summer but the process takes 14 weeks and so simply couldn’t be executed in a close season so dramatically shortened by the pandemic,” he wrote. “The current Elland Road playing surface received justifiable criticism last year as the ancient drainage system was unable to deal with the torrential rain we experienced across December.”

He added groundstaff were “managing a pitch which is 25 years old and suffering from decades of under-investment.”

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