Recent history marked that of the last four clashes between the two, Leeds had taken two wins and had two draws with Manchester City, but the reality put Guardiola’s team at the top of the table and Bielsa’s team barely surpassing the relegation line, in a very irregular season. This second half was the one that ended up imposing in the Etihad Stadium, where in addition those of Elland Road arrived with muhcas low and a plan that did not work, and on the other side everything worked perfectly from the beginning for a historic thrashing that ended 7 to 0 in favor of the locals.
Phil Foden was in charge of opening the scoring and from there everything collapsed for Bielsa, who at the end of the first half fell 3-0 with the goals of Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne. The complement began truncated with the goal of Riyad Mahrez and the double of the Belgian in a match that ended with the goals of the central John Stones and Nathan Ake.De this way, and after 568 games as coach, Marcelo Bielsa suffers seven goals against in a match for the first time and overcomes the worst fall in its history that had been in 1992, when their Newell’s fell 6-0 to San Lorenzo for the Copa Libertadores. After the game, the Argentine assumed the mistake in every way.” There is nothing positive about our performance to rescue. I do not find something that can be valued so, as is natural in these cases, when there is nothing that is well done, it is not the indivudalities that fail, but the leadership, the collective organization and there is no justification that I can offer, “he said.
In the post-match press conference and in the mixed zone, Bielsa said: “The match was exactly as we had thought and we prepared to avoid everything that happened, we did not achieve anything that was necessary so that the superiority was not so manifest” and closed: “We had never had a performance like today.” In this way, Manchester City extends its advantage against Liverpool, who have not yet played and secures the lead for one more date with 41 points. Leeds, on the other hand, were in 15th place with 16 points and remain five points from the relegation zone, although that gap can be narrowed their Burnley and Newcastle add points.
