Much-changed Leeds United impress Bielsa

Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa admired the way his much-changed side adapted to his style of play during the 2-1 victory over Bolton in the Carabao Cup.
Marcelo Bielsa watches 
Leeds United v Bolton Wanderers (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)Marcelo Bielsa watches 
Leeds United v Bolton Wanderers (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)
Marcelo Bielsa watches Leeds United v Bolton Wanderers (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)

The former Argentina and Chile boss made eight alterations to the team which hammered Derby 4-1 in the Championship on Saturday evening.

Only Luke Ayling, Kalvin Phillips and Samuel Saiz retained their places in a line-up that included half a dozen players making their first starts for the club.

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Patrick Bamford was one of those and the striker made an impression on his full debut, taking just 27 minutes to open his account, before Samuel Saiz added a second.

Tiredness was a factor in the second period as Bolton made a game of it, halving the deficit through Erhun Otzumer, but Bielsa was impressed with his players for taking on his tactics.

“Even if the starters were new ones, they respected the style of the team,” Bielsa said, via a translator.

“The performance of the team was balanced, was regular, and if needed the players could also play on Saturday.

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“We dominated the game and had many offensive occasions to score.

Early miss for Patrick Bamford. (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)Early miss for Patrick Bamford. (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)
Early miss for Patrick Bamford. (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)

“When you are winning by just one goal it is not enough. So when this happens you are always a little bit worried.

“They had a situation where they could have scored another goal, but our offensive performance was good enough and we could have won by a difference of two goals.”

Bielsa’s third consecutive win in charge took Leeds into the second round of the League Cup.

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But the 63-year-old would not be drawn on whether he wants to play a Premier League side next, adding: “It is always a good thing to play against good teams.

“But we will see which team we will play in the next ballot. There are always many difficulties in each game, if it’s a Premier League team or a third-division team.”