-Collins
24 Gregory 52
Ince 62
Ince 62
This was an 80 minute
training game, albeit played in a stadium, that ordinarily would
not merit recording in detail. However in the context of 2020
and the very brief pre-season it has been documented as far as
publicly disclosed information allows. Leeds substitution times
have been estimated from the brief video, report and tweets
issued by the host club. It looked like Shackleton went to
right-back at half-time, Ayling shifted inside him, Casey
replaced Struijk as the defensive shield and Gotts came on in
midfield. From the last play shown in the video, it appeared
Leeds finished in a 3-3-1-3 with some experimental positions.
Specifically Douglas in front of the defence flanked by Gotts
and Casey as wing-backs, Harrison in the hole and Roberts on the
left-wing.
-Struijk 39 Hernández
54 Costa 77
Lucas Silva 37
Lucas Silva 37
Leeds changed to 3-3-1-3 at
half-time with Ayling, Davis and Douglas as centre-backs,
Shackleton and Davis as wing-backs, Hernández in the hole and a
front three of Costa/Bamford/Harrison. When Poveda came on,
Costa switched to the left. At the end, the precautionary
substitution of Bamford with young centre-back Charlie Cresswell
seemed to result in a return to 4-1-4-1. Definitely Costa moved
to centre-forward and it looked like a quartet of
Poveda/Shackleton/Gotts/Davis behind him. The Paços de Ferriera
wingers swapped over from the 26th minute to half-time.
Meanwhile their eleventh and final substitute, Pedro Ribeiro,
came on at right-wing meaning Adriano Castanheira had to fill in
at left-back for a few minutes. The visitors did not use an
armband to denote their captain so the successor to Marcelo is
not known.
- Harrison 12 Bamford
30
Klich 66
Salah 4p, 33, 88p
van Dijk 20
Klich 66
Salah 4p, 33, 88p
van Dijk 20
••●Salah
4
●Salah 88
●Salah 88
Liverpool skipper Jordan
Henderson moved to right midfield when Fabinho took over the
holding role. Then when Henderson was replaced by Curtis Jones,
he handed van Dijk the captain's armband. Immediately after the
winning penalty, Matip came on to bolster the home side's
defence with Gomez going to right-back.
-LOST ON PENS 8-9
Alioski 90+3
Wilks 5
Alioski 90+3
Wilks 5
Hull's James Scott played in
three different positions, moving to left-wing when Mayer came
on at half-time and later to centre-forward to replace Wilks.
-Costa 5, 57 Klich
40p
Bamford 50
Mitrović 34p, 67 Reid 62
Bamford 50
Mitrović 34p, 67 Reid 62
•●Klich 40
•●Mitrović
34
When Bamford went off,
Roberts became the main striker with Alioski on in a rarely-seen
central midfield role. Fulham's Cavaleiro switched wings after
the double substitution which saw the introduction of Kebano on
the left.
-Bamford 88
Costa and Harrison swapped
over for the final five minutes of the first-half. Sharp took
over as captain for Sheffield United when he came on.
-Rodrigo 59
Sterling 17
Sterling 17
Costa switched wings at
half-time to facilitate Poveda on the right. Meanwhile Dallas
moved into midfield when Davis replaced Klich. City pushed Foden
forward on the left when Bernardo Silva came on, with Sterling
playing centrally thereafter and Mahrez moving to the right.
With the introduction of Fernandinho, they changed to 4-2-3-1
with the new man joining Rodri in a double pivot and Bernardo-De
Bruyne-Foden supporting Sterling.
-Jiménez
70
Leeds lost Liam Cooper in
the warm-up, Shackleton taking the place of the promoted Struijk
on the bench. As a reminder, the team graphics show the starting
formations but in this instance it feels slightly misleading as
both sides changed after ten minutes. Wolves moved Neto out to
the right wing to adopt their familiar 3-4-3/5-4-1 shape. Dallas
who had previously been tracking Dendoncker, was tasked with
marking him and thus ended up back as a left-back in something
akin to the predicted 4-1-4-1. After Leeds dominated the
first-half, the second period saw the visitors press more
aggressively and they were rewarded when a Jiménez shot
wrong-footed Meslier after taking a heavy deflection off
Phillips' head. Struijk slipped in the build-up and had to come
off a few minutes later. With no centre-back options among the
subs, Phillips replaced him in defence, Hernández came on in
midfield and Klich dropped deeper. Wolves first change resulted
in powerful winger Traoré operating on the right with Neto
switching to the left.
-Bamford 55, 67, 74
Marcelo Bielsa reacted to
the sending-off threat posed by Struijk's early booking, by
substituting him for Shackleton with Klich taking over the
mantle of the defensive midfielder.
-Dallas 48
Barnes 2
Tielemans 21, 90+1p
Vardy 76
Barnes 2
Tielemans 21, 90+1p
Vardy 76
•●Tielemans
90+1
Defensively Leicester set up
in a 5-4-1 with Praet and Barnes very narrow in the mid-block
and looking to turn over possession by forcing a frustrated
Leeds team into risky passes on a sodden surface. At half-time
Poveda came in on the right, Costa switched to the left and
Harrison adopted an inside-left position to make it a hybrid
4-4-2. The first period of sustained pressure on the visitors'
goal ensued and a real prospect of salvaging at least a point,
until Vardy's finely crafted breakaway killed the game. Two
substitutes were heavily involved in the goal, Maddison and
Ünder - the former having moved from right to left when the
latter joined him on the pitch. Maddison then went up top for
the final minutes when Vardy was rested; Morgan taking up
station at the heart of the Foxes' defence and Fofana, Fuchs and
Thomas all shuffling round/forwards to accommodate him.
-Bamford 27
Dann 12 Eze 22
Costa 42og Ayew 70
Dann 12 Eze 22
Costa 42og Ayew 70
Palace's 4-4-2 led Leeds
into a rare, of late, deployment of Bielsa's trademark 3-3-1-3.
Struijk was the sitting midfielder until being subbed,
whereafter Klich dropped deeper to allow Roberts to roam between
the lines. Eberechi Eze was a surprise starter in the home
line-up. He showed his versatility by moving up-front for a
spell at the end of the first-half after swapping with Ayew and
then switching to the right, when usual left-winger Schlupp came
on. He also justified his selection with a "worldie" free-kick
to put Palace in control at 2-0 up, just minutes after VAR had
controversially denied United an equaliser; Bamford's
outstretched arm being deemed offside by remote adjudicator Mike
Dean. As well as quite subjective determination of where the
shoulder ends and the arm begins, the verdict also appeared to
rely on Clyne being the last but one defender without reference
to the position of Kouyaté, whose back-foot was obscured on the
camera angle used.
1■Pépé 51
After being reduced to ten
men, Arsenal reorganised as 4-4-1 by moving Willock to the
right. He was soon relieved of his new duties when Saka came on,
with Nelson swapping flanks. For Leeds, Dallas went to
right-back when Rodrigo replaced Ayling. The second substitute,
Poveda, played in his usual right-wing role meaning Raphinha
ended his full debut on the left.
-Raphinha 79
Leeds set up with a slightly
unusual variation on their left with Harrison almost as a second
striker, leaving Alioski to mark the right wing-back Davies.
Meanwhile a feature of the game was Dallas tracking James all
round the pitch. After twenty minutes, Raphinha and Harrison
swapped roles to good effect as the eventual match-winner seemed
to revel in the freedom to drift into central areas. Everton
were first to use their bench bringing on Delph at left
wing-back, meaning Iwobi briefly switched to the right before
being replaced by Gomes. The Portuguese midfielder slotted
alongside Allan in the centre with Doucoré pushed out to the
right. Almost immediately there was a fascinating interlude
whereby James and Richarlison swapped over for a short period.
Dallas was soon instructed to follow James and effectively
became the right-back but Ayling did not reciprocate. Instead
Cooper was now the leftmost defender shadowing Richarlison.
After falling behind, Everton's last throw of the dice was to
take off a defender in Holgate (Gomes donning the captain's
armband) and alter to 4-2-2-2. This saw Calvert-Lewin and
Richarlison paired up-front with James and (final sub) Bernard
in support. Alioski picked up the new man while Dallas,
naturally, stuck close to his Colombian aquaintance. So after
their belated substitutions, Leeds finished the match in a
3-3-1-3 formation: Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Cooper; Alioski,
Phillips, Dallas; Klich; Poveda, Rodrigo, Costa. Note that
before limping out of the game, Harrison had a few minutes back
on the left after Poveda came on.
-Bamford 4
Giroud 27 Zouma 61
Pulisic 90+3
Giroud 27 Zouma 61
Pulisic 90+3
The first Leeds game played
before a crowd since Project Restart. The paying punters
witnessed the visitors unusually using a double pivot, which was
dictated by the man-marking responsibilites of Dallas on Mount,
Phillips on Havertz and Klich pressing Kanté. With Ziyech forced
off in the first-half, Chelsea moved Werner to the right with
Pulisic mainly on the left. Leeds' wingers swapped over for the
last five minutes of the half while Raphinha went back to the
left with Poveda's introduction. That was until a further
reversal around the 80th minute. With Rodrigo on the pitch,
Leeds ended in a more familiar 4-1-4-1 with Dallas now at
left-back.
-Klich 6p
Souček 25 Ogbonna 80
Souček 25 Ogbonna 80
•●Klich 6
Leeds had the early fillip
of a penalty and a VAR decision to order a retake of it;
Fabianski being adjudged to have prematurely advanced from his
line in saving Klich's initial kick. Raphinha and Harrison
swapped over for a few minutes after the Brazilian had taken a
corner on the left in the 33rd minute. The same thing happened,
now with Costa on the other flank, in the 70th minute but this
time the change remained in place until the final whistle. It
was possibly a fateful move as Costa gave away the free-kick,
when helping out in the right-back area, from which the Hammers'
winner resulted. As well as Costa, Leeds brought on Shackleton
at half-time to play on the right of the defence with Dallas
moving to left-back. West Ham were more rigid in their formation
but did mix up their attacking midfield trio at the end of the
first-half to (L-R) Fornals/Bowen/Benrahma. They reset at the
resumption but used their late substitutions to move to 5-3-1-1
as they sought to protect their lead. Johnson came on at
left-back outside Cresswell, now playing as a centre-back.
Fornals went to the right of midfield and Noble (who was
enthusiastically handed the captain's armband by Rice as he
entered the field) operated as a conservative No.10.
-Bamford 35 Rodrigo
61
Dallas 77 Alioski 85
Harrison 88
Hendrick 26 Clark 65
Dallas 77 Alioski 85
Harrison 88
Hendrick 26 Clark 65
Newcastle pushed Murphy up
to his more usual right-wing position when Krafth came on. Jack
Harrison played in an unnumbered jersey for much of the
first-half after sustaining a blood injury just before
Hendrick's goal.
-Cooper 41 Dallas 73
McTominay 2, 3
Fernandes 20, 70p
Lindelöf 37 James 66
McTominay 2, 3
Fernandes 20, 70p
Lindelöf 37 James 66
•●Fernandes
70
This was the first round of
fixtures this season with the scope to name nine substitutes,
although still only three could be used. Raphinha and Harrison
swapped over from the 34th minute through to the 89th, just
before the former set up the latter for a big chance that was
drilled wide. Manchester's wingers also flipped more briefly,
between the 10th and 19th minutes. At half-time Leeds sought to
bolster their overrun midfield by utilizing Dallas there, with
Shackleton on at right-back and Struijk as the anchor in place
of Phillips. The restart after the 6-1 goal was delayed while
Liam Cooper was helped from the field with Ayling taking over
the captaincy. Thus de Beek, Cavani and Davis all came on in the
same break in play. For the home side, Martial moved to the left
to accommodate the Uruguayan target man. Then when reduced to
ten men in the final moments by McTominay's groin strain, de
Beek dropped back from the No.10 position to partner Fred in a
4-2-3 formation.
-Bamford 5p
•●Bamford 5
The main talking point after
this game was a disallowed Ashley Barnes goal for Burnley in the
18th minute. The referee had been quick to whistle for a
perceived foul by Mee on Meslier as the keeper lost his grip of
the ball, which prevented VAR interceding in the matter.
Shackleton again came on at right-back meaning Dallas switched
to the holding midfield role. However Leeds soon shifted to
4-1-4-1 with Phillips back in that position. This was because
Burnley used their double-substitution to move to 4-3-3 with
Stephens playing in central midield and Rodriguez as a mainly
right-sided forward.
-Sawyers 9og Alioski
31
Harrison 36 Rodrigo 40
Raphinha 72
Harrison 36 Rodrigo 40
Raphinha 72
West Brom lost Gibbs in the
warm-up so had to promote former Leeds skipper Lee Peltier,
hence their bench being a man light. After defending a corner in
the 11th minute, Albion's wingers switched over. Then at
half-time they brought on Ivanović to play in the middle of a
back five and seemed to line-up as 5-2-1-2 with Sawyers,
Gallagher and Diangana to match up United's central midfield
triangle; Diangana tasked with stifling Kalvin Phillips. This
left Robinson on the right and Grant on the left as a split
front two and for a while, Leeds seemed to toy with playing
Dallas/Ayling/Struijk as a back three. When Pereira came on in
the No.10 position, Diangana dropped deeper and Robinson was
left as the lone striker in a 5-3-1-1. Ajayi took over as
captain in the second-half. On the fourth goal, Rodrigo's shot
was deflected to the opposite corner of the net by O'Shea and
could easily have been recorded as the game's second own goal.
This was after Leeds received the freakish early gift of
Sawyers' no-look pass back to a keeper who had strayed from his
goal to offer himself as a passing option. Alioski wore an
unnumbered shirt for the final ten minutes of the first-half
after a blood injury.
-Kane
29p Son 43
Alderweireld 50
Alderweireld 50
•●Kane
29
1■■Doherty 90+2
Leeds' right-wing pair of
Raphinha and Dallas were re-united on the left after the
substitutions that brought Poveda and Shackleton into the
action. As if he was missing them, Spurs' Son Heung-Min also
switched wings with Bergwijn from the 78th minute onwards. After
Doherty's dismissal, Lucas Moura filled in at right-back for the
final minute of injury-time.
-Tsaroulla
50 Nadesan 53
Tunnicliffe 70
Tunnicliffe 70
Insert notes here.
-Maupay
17
The aggression of Brighton's
press and the state of the Elland Road pitch, alligned to make
for an uncomfortable afternoon for Bielsa's team with
uncharacteristic usage of long balls as a means of transition.
With arguably five centre-backs named in their eleven, this was
always likely to play into the visitor's hands. Alioski's
substitution led to a chain of positional changes: Dallas to
left-back, Ayling to right-back, Struijk to right centre-back
and Klich to defensive midfield. Hernández slotted in alongside
fellow sub, Roberts, in the middle and the fresh legs did
slightly perk up Leeds' promptings. Protecting their lead,
Brighton gradually retreated to a 5-4-1. This saw White and
Bissouma paired in central midfield, Groß on the left, Pröpper
on the right and Tau (initially on at right-wing) leading the
line.
-Raphinha 17 Harrison
61
Almirón 57
Almirón 57
After Llorente's early
hamstring injury, Struijk came on to partner Cooper -
surprisingly taking the left-sided berth given their pairing in
the Brighton game. The ever-versatile Dallas went to left-back
when Klich replaced Alioski. Newcastle swapped Fraser and
Almirón over in the 29th minute, following a stoppage for
treatment for Dallas. Later Fraser switched to the right when
their star man, Saint-Maximin, came on at left-wing. When Fraser
was subbed a little while afterwards, his replacement Gayle
played as the No.10 and Almirón moved to the right-wing. Thus
Fraser and Almirón rotated through three positions at various
stages in the game.
-Dallas 15 Bamford 70
Harrison 84
Barnes 13
Harrison 84
Barnes 13
In the second-half Leicester
went 3-4-3, similar to the shape they used at Elland Road but
pressing higher and dominating possession. Söyüncü came in on
the left of the back three, Pereira and Justin became wing-backs
and Maddison moved to the right. Leeds' response, circa the 56th
minute, was to move Dallas to left-back to track Maddison and
let Alioski push on to Pereira. This freed Harrison to take on
the asymmetric second striker role we saw him in for twenty
minutes at Everton and in the second-half at Swansea last
season. Phillips was now marking Tielemans and frequently found
himself following the Belgian linkman deep into Leicester
territory, so Leeds were now effectively playing without a
defensive midfielder. At 1-2 down, the home side reverted to
4-2-3-1 by replacing a centre-back with a right-winger (Ünder
for Fofana) meaning Leeds could also reset to their original
formation. However they kept Dallas at left-back and Phillips
stayed on Tielemans. The curious upshot of all this was the
deployment of Alioski as the DM with responsibility for keeping
tabs on Maddison; a responsibility he had been relieved of
earlier in the half.
-Raphinha 48
Sigurðsson 9
Calvert-Lewin 41
Sigurðsson 9
Calvert-Lewin 41
As has become usual when
Alioski is subbed, Dallas went to left-back while Raphinha
switched wings when Hélder Costa came on. Everton left their
changes late, bringing on a centre-back in Keane which
necessitated moving Godfrey to left-back and Digne to the
advanced position on that side vacated by Richarlison. When
Sigurðsson was brought off, Digne took the captain's armband and
Gomes the more attacking central midfield role.
-Harrison 3 Bamford
52
Leeds set up to play 3-3-1-3
with Dallas as right wing-back and Ayling-Cooper-Struijk at the
back. However with Ayew playing behind Mateta, after 90 seconds
an instruction was given to change to 4-1-4-1; the tell-tale
sign being Struijk sprinting across Cooper to position himself
on the right of a centre-back duo. At half-time Palace brought
on a more natural winger in Townsend to play on the right with
Eze switching wings. Although at times Ayew did seek to help
press the Leeds centre-backs, it was only with Batshuayi and
Benteke on the pitch that Palace truly had two up-front.
Naturally Bielsa rapidly ordered the re-instatement of the
original plan, although after Phillips had to depart late on it
became 3-4-3. Shackleton was now the right wing-back with Klich
and Dallas sharing duties in the middle, neither sitting
particularly deeper than the other. Although fortunately not
required, this was the first Leeds fixture under the new
protocols that permit up to two additional concussion
substitutions. As the other team is compensated by being allowed
an extra substitute themselves, theoretically up to seven
replacements might be made if both teams had recourse to use the
new rules to the max.
-Struijk 58 Costa 69
Aubameyang 13, 41p, 47
Bellerín 45
Aubameyang 13, 41p, 47
Bellerín 45
•●Aubameyang
41
A feature of the first-half
was the success of the Arsenal press in which Saka joined
Aubameyang to close down the centre-backs while Struijk
struggled to free himself from the attentions of Ødegaard. Thus
Meslier often struggled to find distribution options other than
lofted passes towards Alioski, who was being loosely marked by
Bellerín, and possession was frequently overturned. The pressure
culminated in a clumsy penalty concession when Saka nicked the
ball off the keeper's toes while he weighed up his options. As
part of the half-time changes, Costa came on at right-wing
meaning a switch of flanks for Raphinha. However the Brazilian
returned to the right to take a free-kick in the 82nd minute and
remained there. Niall Huggins was given a debut from the bench
at 4-0 down, initially in midfield with Dallas going to
left-back. Then on the hour he dropped to right-back after
swapping with Shackleton. Finally he ended up at left-back in
the 86th minute with Dallas and Shackleton back in their
starting positions. Arsenal's changes were somewhat simpler;
Ceballos playing further forward after Elneny came on to relieve
Ødegaard. Near the end Ceballos was himself replaced to permit
the Gunners to see the game out in a 3-4-3 formation with
Holding on the right of the centre-back line.
-Meslier
64og
Dallas moved to midfield
when Alioski replaced Klich as part of a double-substitution in
the 81st minute. Aït-Nouri, the third left-back used by Wolves,
came on in the same break of play but only after some
prevaracation over effecting the change.
-Bamford 47 Dallas 78
Raphinha 84
Raphinha 84
Southampton started the game
brightly, pressing aggresively down their left with Bertrand
taking up advanced positions and Tella drifting inside to
support the front men. At this stage their formation looked more
3-4-1-2 but out of possession, they fall back to their familiar
narrow 4-4-2 shape. Leeds may have been seeking to target the
out of position Bednarek by placing Raphinha on the left but in
truth, neither of the Whites' wingmen were able to get involved
early on. Switching them in the 22nd minute may have been aimed
at putting Bertrand on the back foot but a half-time rethink saw
Costa on at right-wing and Raphinha back on the left.
Southampton swapped Armstrong and Tella in the 53rd minute and
Minamino played on the right when he replaced the latter.
Armstrong then tucked inside when the Saints lost Romeu with
Djénépo now on the left. For Leeds, Dallas moved into midfield
when a back injury forced Klich's departure, with Alioski taking
over the wing-back role. The substitutions in the 58th and 59th
minutes were in the same break in play, with a slight pause as
Klich trudged from the pitch alongside the physios.
-El
Ghazi 5
Costa and Raphinha
temporarily swapped wings from the 41st minute, after the latter
came across to the right to take a free-kick. They reset for the
second-half and Harrison was initially a direct replacement for
Costa on the right, until a further switch in the 73rd minute.
With Struijk carrying a knock and replaced by Alioski, Dallas
moved into midfield and Klich took on the holding role. This was
a natural progression for the Pole, who had increasingly been
dropping deeper to try and start the play.
-Lingard
21 Dawson 28
•●Lingard 21 (saved)>goal
Leeds' wingers swapped after
the second goal and Raphinha remained on the right through the
second-half. Dallas went to midfield when Alioski came on at
half-time. For West Ham, Bowen played on the right so Fornals
moved to the left. As at Elland Road, David Moyes opted for a
five man defence to see the game out with Johnson again coming
on at left back and Cresswell tucking inside as an extra
centre-back.
Insert notes here.
-Bamford 29 Raphinha
58
Andersen 38
Andersen 38
This was Leeds' first win in
London since December 2017. The second half saw frequent
swapping of Raphinha and Harrison, ofter dictated by the
former's corner-taking duties. The timeline was: reversed
positions up to 55th minute (RW corner), original positions to
58th minute (goal), reversed to 73rd minute, original to 83rd
minute (LW corner), reversed to 88th minute (RW corner),
original to full-time. So including five minutes of added time,
for 60% of this half Harrison was on the right and Raphinha on
the left. Roberts played as the main striker after Bamford had
to limp from the action, until he too was substituted in
injury-time. Koch came on in a central midfield role and United
were now sitting deep in a 4-1-5-0 with Klich stepping forward
to press the Fulham centre-backs. The home team's main tactical
shift seemed to be to prey on their opponent's perceived
set-piece frailities. At half-time they brought on the muscular
Mitrović to lead their attack and after falling behind, added
more height with the introduction of Loftus-Cheek. In
sacrificing one of their holding midfielders in Reed, they were
pretty much matching Leeds' 4-1-4-1 from this point.
-Harrison 12
Jagielka 49og
Osborn 45+2
Jagielka 49og
Osborn 45+2
Insert notes here.
-Dallas 42, 90+1
Torres 76
Torres 76
1■Cooper 45+1
Leeds initially reacted to
the sending-off of Cooper by sacrificing Bamford and going
4-4-1, while City changed to 4-4-2 for the second-half. Sterling
was now playing as a striker with Mendy at left-wing,
Fernandinho at centre-back and Aké moved to left-back. Zinchenko
took over there when Gündoğan replaced the Dutch defender. Per
the usual Bielsa formula, Leeds now needed a third centre-back
and Koch was duly slotted in between Llorente and Struijk - the
loss of Roberts in so doing meaning the formation became 5-4-0.
What little attacking intent United could muster was channelled
through the wingers, while Stones and Fernandinho had the
freedom to dribble through the vacated central area. The
unlikely winning goal in injury-time was constructed by Alioski
and Costa on the left, the full-back then feeding Dallas who
made a lung-busting charge from his own half, outpacing both
City liberos.
-Llorente 87
Mané 31
Mané 31
This game was played after
news had broken of the ill-fated European Super League proposals
and Jürgen Klopp was unable to hide his irritation at the
protests his players were subjected to outside the ground,
echoed by a banner and warm-up T-shirts orchestrated by Leeds.
Out of possession, United were 4-2-3-1 as Phillips was marking
Thiago while Dallas locked horns with Milner until switching to
full-back late on when Alioski went off. Liverpool's front three
were quite fluid and at the time of their goal appeared to have
reshuffled to (L-R) Firmino/Mané/Jota. Indeed Alioski tracking
Firmino's run inside opened up space for Alexander-Arnold to
move into to provide the assist. In the final quarter, Jota
again moved to the left to accommodate Salah while with their
second change, the Reds altered to 4-4-1-1. Salah was now the
central striker supported by Firmino, with Oxlade-Chamberlain
introduced on the right and Milner moving to the left.
Leeds swapped their wingers
over at half-time so Poveda's entry was initially on the right.
However Costa soon suffered a season-ending back injury after
being thrown to the ground by Wan-Bissaka. Klich was his
replacement, so Roberts briefly played at right-wing with Poveda
switched to the left. That was until the Whites' final sub when
Koch appeared to be hastily brought on in response to Pogba's
introduction for Manchester. Roberts was sacrificed for the
German, who perhaps surprisingly settled in as the new chaperone
for Fernandes. This freed Phillips to play closer to Klich with
Dallas filling the vacated RW role. Pogba mainly played from the
left with Rashford moving to the opposite flank until being
subbed. Therafter Greenwood operated on the right so that Cavani
could lead the line. One final positional note was that Poveda
made a darting run towards the right as Leeds broke after
defending a corner in the 88th minute and stayed there until the
end, meaning Dallas finished on the left.
-Groß
14p Welbeck 79
•●Groß
14
Dallas went to left-back at
half-time with Poveda playing right-wing. The final change saw
Hernández entering the fray moments before the clinching goal,
scored while Leeds were still adjusting to Koch partnering
Struijk and Klich dropping back to defensive midfield.
-Dallas 13 Bamford 42
Rodrigo 84
Son 25
Rodrigo 84
Son 25
Raphinha played on the left
when he came on, meaning Harrison switched to the right and
Dallas moved infield. Late on Phillips was a direct replacement
for Klich, Koch remained as the defensive midfielder.
-Klich 44 Harrison 59
Rodrigo 77, 79
Rodrigo 77, 79
Burnley's Brownhill and
McNeil swapped over at times in the second-half. Notably between
right-wing corners taken by McNeil in the 51st and 56th minutes
and again from the 61st to 64th minute. When Guðmundsson came
on, Brownhill took up permanent residence on the left. Once
there he fell to be marked by Dallas but United's utility man
was prepared to leave him behind to support the attack, roaming
into unusually advanced infield positions for a wing-back.
-Bamford 73 Roberts
90+5
Gaetano Berardi made his
first appearance as a Premier League player as a second-half
substitute. He played on the right of the back three with Ayling
shifting to the middle. For Southampton, Armstrong moved to the
right when Diallo came on in central midfield.
-Rodrigo 17 Phillips
42
Bamford 79p
Robson-Kanu 90
Bamford 79p
Robson-Kanu 90
•●Bamford 79
An emotional day as Elland
Road welcomed back fans and bade farewell to two great servants.
Although Cooper was the nominated captain and led the team out,
before kick-off he handed the armband to Pablo Hernández on the
occasion of his last Leeds appearance. At half-time the honour
transferred to the other departing hero, Gaetano Berardi. Cooper
resumed the captaincy when both players were substituted in
sequence, their long goodbyes spanning the 69th and 70th
minutes. Albion's Kyle Bartley, a teammate in 2016/17 and
previously with Hernández at Swansea, touchingly stepped forward
to join in the commemoration. Tactically Sam Allardyce sprang a
surprise with a 5-3-2 formation using Matt Phillips as a strike
partner for Callum Robinson. However out of possession they both
dropped back in front of the full-backs to make it two banks of
five, leaving United's three centre-backs looking
under-employed. In the middle Kalvin Phillips marked Gallagher,
Dallas tracked Maitland-Niles and Hernández was nominally on
Yokuşlu but largely had a free role behind Rodrigo and "second
striker" Harrison. West Brom later switched to 4-1-4-1 with
Robson-Kanu at centre-forward, Diangana on the right and
Phillips on the left. Leeds quickly matched up, using Berardi
and then Struijk as the right centre-back with Ayling and
Alioski in conventional full-back positions. The game had a
bizarre ending when the Leeds Phillips dislocated his shoulder
in making a lunging tackle on Diangana. Referee Coote waited
patiently as he was attended to and helped to his feet before
showing him the yellow card. Phillips was then stood off the
pitch in front of the East Stand when the final two seconds of
the season were played out, insufficient time for West Brom to
make anything of the free-kick. Technically Leeds finished with
ten men because there was no prospect of Phillips coming back on
had there been a lengthier resumption.