Newcastle United’s Dan Burn has recalled how Leeds United’s style of play in their first season back in the Premier League was a massive shock to other teams.
Leeds ended their 16-year wait for top-flight football under Marcelo Bielsa in 2020 and took the league by storm in their first campaign with a ninth-placed finish.
Bielsa’s unique style of play caught teams by surprise with the likes of Newcastle, West Brom and Burnley all on the end of big defeats over the course of the year.
And speaking on the latest episode of BBC’s Monday Night Club, Burn – who was at Brighton at the time – has used that Leeds side as an example of the league taking a year to figure out how to deal with them.
Though Bielsa was sacked in February of the following season as Leeds began to struggle, those first three seasons under his management mean he will forever be loved at Elland Road.
Bielsa style was unique, which is why Leeds loved him
Reflecting on Leeds under Bielsa, Burn says that ‘no one had a clue’ how to deal with how much running they used to do, until the second season when teams were able to understand the style more.
“Leeds when they came up the first year with Bielsa, they were running all over the place and no one had a clue what to do. Then in the second year teams sort of figured them out a little bit and that’s when they struggled a little bit.”
It is unlikely that the Premier League will ever see a style of play like Bielsa’s again but Leeds can be happy with the years they spent under him.
While Bielsa is completely unique in how he operates, there is a reason Leeds have tried to go back to a style of play as close to his as possible under Daniel Farke this season.
Liam Cooper has insisted there is a lot of similarities between the two and hopefully Farke will be able to replicate what he did by taking Leeds to the Premier League.
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