Marcelo Bielsa has rarely put a foot wrong this season and all the good work he has done was evidenced on Saturday once again with his side 3-0 up against Cardiff, and coasting in the way they were playing.
Even a poor mistake by Kiko Casilla which gave the visitors a consolation goal on the hour didn’t seem to disrupt matters, until two goals in the last ten minutes turned the game on its head and raised questions about Bielsa’s decision making.
In particular, the decision to take off senior players such as Patrick Bamford and Gaetano Berardi backfired. Both were playing well and providing a key service to the defence in their own way, yet the Argentine felt it was okay to bring on two 20-year-old players.
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Eddie Nketiah has often featured as a sub so that perhaps wasn’t too significant, but brining on Pascal Strujik for only his second senior appearance was a puzzling decision, and one which hasn’t been lost on fans – who blame Bielsa for the comeback disaster.
The perplexing decision undoubtedly cost the Whites all three points as some questionable positioning from Strujik allowed Robert Glatzel to pounce following a long ball from Lee Tomlin, and that was enough to share the spoils.
Bielsa must learn from this. As much as he wants to blood youngsters there is a time and a place, and after conceding one he should have focused on keeping his key players on the pitch, and seeing out the win.
He will now know just how much of a disruption simple substitutions can have, and the effect that taking off Bamford has on the team, from both an attacking and defensive perspective.
Nevertheless, he has rightly been criticised for his handling of the match, which has overshadowed the extension of Leeds’ unbeaten run, and just how well they played for the majority of the match.
Despite an ultimately disappointing result, the match against Cardiff did at least highlight the importance of one player, who has rightly been praised by fans as a result.