The 2021/22 season was a difficult one for fans of Leeds United. Before being too critical of performance, however, we have to consider the context. This was the clubs second season back in the Premier League after too long spent outside the spotlight and hindsight tells us that the second season is often the most difficult one. For fans of the club, a difficult season and a relegation battle were hard to cope with but those issues paled into insignificance with the fact that this difficult season led to the departure of the clubs Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa.
The mercurial Bielsa was revered in Leeds as the mastermind that took the club back to the Premier League and who instilled a playing style that made Leeds the talk of world football. Bielsa, however, is renowned for his intense methods and, as the season wore on it, became evident that his time at Elland Road was coming to an end.
The clubs hierarchy was quick to move and appoint the former RB Leipzig coach Jesse Marsch as the successor to Bielsa. The American coach came into the club in a difficult period with limited time to install his style of play into the playing squad. In the end, relegation was avoided but it was very, very close but Leeds could prepare for a third consecutive season of Premier League football.
At this point, we saw a Leeds squad that had been built for the very specific style of play for Bielsa and changes needed to be made to fit the way that Marsch likes to play. He is very much a product of the Red Bull environment in that he had worked for New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig. Marsch had been described at one point, somewhat disparagingly, as a company man who represented the footballing arm of Red Bull. To an extent this is true, but only in that Marsch represents the positive aspects of the Red Bull style of play.
He trusts young players and wants his sides to play with aggression on the front foot. He likes aggressive pressing as Bielsa did, and he wants verticality in possession with the ball being moved quickly through the thirds. We should pause at this point to say that vertical football isnt the same as route one or long ball with driven vertical passes being moved through the thirds as the play is connected. Leeds, however, had to find a way to balance their budget whilst also bringing in players to meet the style wanted by Marsch.
The answer was simple if upsetting, for Leeds fans as the club were met with significant interest in their better players from rival clubs. This interest saw the club lose their Brazilian international wide player Raphinha, for a reported £52M to Barcelona, and home-grown midfield dynamo Kalvin Phillips, for a reported £43M to Manchester City. While the sale of these players hurt in the short term, it made sense from a financial and squad-churning perspective.
This weekend past, we saw the opening matches of the 2022/23 Premier League season as Leeds United hosted Wolverhampton Wanderers and won 2-1. Leeds fans got their first chance to see the new look side in action and, although there are still raw edges to the performance, the early signs were positive.
In this tactical analysis, we will look at how Leeds United played in this first match of the season and how they may look to replace the output of Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips. This analysis piece will be a team scout report of Leeds early doors, looking at how Marsch has tweaked the sides tactics.
The Brenden Aaronson effect
One of the most intriguing signings that we have seen this summer from Leeds United was the £29M signing of the American international Brenden Aaronson from Red Bull Salzburg. There were many at the time who said that Leeds were only interested in the 21-year-old attacking midfielder because he was a compatriot of Marsch and the two had been at the Austrian club together previously. Indeed, Marsch was the coach of Red Bull Salzburg when Aaronson moved to Europe from Philadelphia Union of MLS for £11M.
Anybody who saw this match, however, will have reassessed that performance as Aaronson buzzed around the Elland Road pitch with relentless energy and intent. He is not a direct replacement for Raphinha as the Brazilian international is more comfortable in wide areas when receiving the ball before then looking to carry the ball into dangerous areas. Aaronson is more of a 10 than a natural winger and even when, as he was in this match, he is played nominally from the right-side of the structure he will come into the half-spaces or even the central areas in order to link the play and combine with teammates.
This positioning from the American is more in keeping with the style of football that we can expect from Leeds under Marsch and indeed, while at both Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig, he looked to play in a 4-2-2-2 structure with the two more advanced midfielders positioned in more of a narrow shape together.
Aaronson was perhaps unlucky that the winning goal for Leeds has gone down as an own goal as it was the American who was sliding in at the back post looking to get the ball over the line. His overall performance, however, was about far more impressive than that moment. He was continually available to teammates as he dropped into pockets of space behind the opposition to receive the ball and his off the ball movements were aggressive and incisive. When in the defensive phase of the game Aaronson often led the press for Leeds in acting on pressing triggers and engaging the ball carrier.
In the early stages of the game, Aaronsons movement was creating danger for Wolves although teammates were struggling to access these runs.
We see an example of this here as, in the 11th minute, Leeds were building the attack with the ball carrier coming inside from the left half-space. As you can see, despite Aaronson being listed as the right-sided winger in the attacking structure, he is very much positioned in the central areas. His run is aggressive and incisive as he moves past the blind side of the nearest opposition player.
From this position, the run that Aaronson will make is d
