The way Leeds set about Dyche's physical Burnley was truly genius at work ... it is well documented that Bielsa is fanatical about detail, and he had a carefully considered game plan for Burnley that dismantled them piece by piece over 90 minutes of complete commitment to the cause by the men in White After the game Dyche lamented that his team didn't have the same intensity as their opponents, and that Leeds seemed to have an edge to their game, but the truth is that the Leeds players were clear in their minds as to what they needed to do to blunt Burnley, hence the illusion that they were "more up for it" ... Leeds were simply very well prepared Bielsa finally had a balanced starting lineup, meaning that his players could execute his ideas with confidence ... this allowed them to put Burnley under pressure, forcing the Clarets to hoof too many balls aimlessly back to Leeds as they tried to find a way to stop the leaks HARRISON GOAL At face value, it looks like a poor error by Tarkowski that allows Harrison to capitalise and give Leeds a well deserved lead ... in fact, it's anything but Tarkowski, who plays as a no-nonsense centre back alongside Mee, has been identified as a target for a high counter press ... the ball forward by Llorrente isn't a panicked clearance at all, but rather a planned long pass into space that invites Harrison or Roberts to press Tarkowski at speed, closing down his space and testing his technique under pressure Llorrente takes the ball down on his chest as he breaks up a Burnley attack, and rather than bang it straight upfield, he plays an instinctive angled ball between Tarkowski and the Burnley right-back, away from Mee and forcing Tarkie to drop deeper than the other defenders, thereby creating a horrible dog leg in the Burnley defensive line Harrison dashes up in a flash, isolating Tarkowski and forcing him to play the way he's facing ... the Burnley enforcer sees him coming and, not trusting his own ability to bring the bouncing ball under control before Jackie is on him (negating his ability to turn and play the safe pass back to his keeper) Tarkie instead plays a hurried attempt at a pass to his right-back, who hasn't dropped back deep enough to help him out but instead has run further away from him on the angle to try and create space for an out ball By the time Tarkowski sees his right back and passes the ball, Harrison is in the passing lane and he not only cuts out the pass, but he controls the ball into the inside left channel at pace, forcing Tarkie into a one-on-one he really doesn't want to be facing Burnley are scrambling now, but they are unsure as to where the threat is coming from ... Mee rushes to the middle of the goal, Taylor is sucked into the far post by Roberts, another confused player is marking the penalty spot on his own while the right back dashes to the centre to cut off Raphinha's run before realising too late that Harrison is the threat Harrison has thrown Tarkowski off balance with a deft swing of the hips and opened up space for a shot that he fires in low and hard ... Hennessy manages to get his body in the way, but the ball flies straight back to Harrison who calmly side foots it past the helpless keeper, squeezing his right-footed effort in at the near post with unerring precision Burnley have seven players in the box at this point, Leeds have only three, and just like that Bielsa has exploited a weakness in the Burnley defence ... Dyche's centre backs are incapable of passing the ball around, being much more comfortable whacking the thing way up into the clouds, and although these hoofers will be admired by Neil Warnock, the Leeds players know that if they can isolate them under pressure they will make critical mistakes ... 1-0 Leeds! DALLAS GOAL Burnley have big boys in their team, and they always back themselves at set pieces and particularly against a much smaller Leeds side ... throwing a corner into the Burnley box is a waste of time for Leeds it seems, as they have little chance of winning the aerial battle in Monsterland ... maybe toss in the first two or three corners, have Burnley get used to setting their defence up as normal with everyone in place to attack the high ball ... no problem, right? Wrong! Cornet is on for the second half, ripe to be exploited, and when Leeds win another corner down the right, Klich drifts over and plays a short corner to Raphinha before moving into the inside right channel for a return pass ... Cornet has fallen asleep, intent on covering a near post run, thus leaving the lone Burnley defender out wide exposed in a two on one situation By the time Cornet gets anywhere near Klich the graceful Polish International is beyond the Burnley penalty area and playing a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Dallas who is positioned five yards outside the area, ready to shoot The shocked Burnley defence have hardly made it out of their six yard box by the time Klich rolls the ball to Dallas, having fixated on Raphinha who they clearly expected to swerve a cross in that never came The Cookstown Messi casually strolls onto the ball and effortlessly strokes a wicked bender around the desperate Tarkowski (yes, him again) and beyond the helpless Hennessy ... the South Stand is a sea of limbs as the net bulges, and seconds later they swallow up the delighted scorer in an embrace of joy and relief ... Dallas celebrates his 250th appearance for Leeds in style as Bielsa's tactics are executed to perfection once again ... 2-1 to the Mighty Whites! JAMES GOAL Leeds love a strong press and swift counter, and the decisive goal encapsulates Bielsa Ball in all its glory ... Hennessy bangs a goal kick deep into the Leeds half, but rather than stay in line with his defence, Llorrente is in position to effectively contest the high hoof ... the blob heads back towards the Burnley end, Klich wins the second ball, controls it expertly on the halfway line and with a deft Cruyff turn loses the Burnley left back Still under pressure, Klich drives forward briefly before superbly nutmegging a pass through the hapless Mee to Gelhardt ... the young Leeds forward has made an intelligent run into the acres of space down the right, and he brings the ball under control before lifting his head to assess his options Tarkowski (erm, yes) takes a glance across to his left as he runs back to cover the space left by the flagging Mee who looks like he is treading in quicksand, and all Tarkie sees is little Dan James being covered by his right back ... this gives him enough comfort to rush across and cover any danger that may be coming from the Leeds right Klich has continued his run down the inside right channel just as Gelhardt decides to drift inside onto his "weaker" left foot ... Tarkie has followed Klich, leaving his right back as the only defender in the Burnley penalty area facing danger, a costly error of judgement Burnley have more players arriving on the scene, comfortable in the fact that they've got Gelhardt to come inside on his left foot, too far out to shoot and with only James in the box for Leeds as an immediate threat ... a short pass back into midfield to Raphinha or Forshaw seems like the obvious option for Joffy, and it will allow Burnley to reset and defend in numbers ... except, that's not Bielsa Ball Leeds have created a Bielsa Ball opportunity at the far post, isolating the Burnley right back in a dangerous one on one ... James has now cleverly drifted in behind his marker, giving him a clear look at the number on his back ... Gelhardt has seen the picture in an instant, having been well schooled in Bielsa's philosophy and understanding the isolation tactic clearly Trusting Bielsa and hearing "CRUZAR LA PELOTA" ringing in his head after countless hours of Bielsa's coaching, the lad doesn't hesitate and with incredible precision his left foot sweeps through the ball, sending it towards the far post with just the right amount of swerve and dip while Burnley players rush back helplessly The Burnley right back suddenly looks panicked as he realises that James is flying in behind and the ball is arcing beyond him into an area Hennessy doesn't have time to cover ... the defender pokes out a high boot in desperation, but he's too late James leaps like prime John Charles and plants his header firmly down at the goal line, just as we were taught growing up ... Hennessy hasn't had time to set himself properly, but he still manages to get down quickly and fling out a firm salute at the ball, just not enough to keep it from spinning into the corner of the goal in a slow motion dance of triumph and tragedy ... "It's behind you" seems to be an appropriate shout out at the floored Hennessy whose face resembles that of some ignoramus who wore a terrible costume to the company Christmas do ... good thing he's clueless as to how a photo copier works Bielsa Ball has ripped Dyche's blueprint a new one as the tie is settled by a brilliant counter attack that took seconds to execute ... 3-1 and Leeds are back!
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