Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Ezgjan Alioski suggests Marcelo Bielsa’s attacking full-back tactic has transformed him and Stuart Dallas
Leeds United star Ezgjan Alioski has changed from a winger to a full-back under Marcelo Bielsa. But he believes this is a positive tactic which is helping to get the best out of the team attacking-wise.
that the Leeds full-backs play as second wingers when in possession. Both full-backs bomb down the wings and join the attacks and this led to Alioski’s goal last night.
The Macedonia star sprinted into the box and received the ball from left-winger Jack Harrison. His strike deflected in off Kyle Bartley and was the difference in the 1-0 win at Elland Road to replace West Brom at the top of the league.
Alioski said (): “For the goal, I was thinking we were definitely going to have a chance, as I saw Jack Harrison I thought I needed to support him and this is the way we want to play, with the wingers and the full-backs attacking.
“We like to play like this, very attacking, high pressure and when we attack we are very dangerous and have many players in the box.”
TBR’s view
This Bielsa tactic is integral to how he plays the game and it makes Leeds such a potent threat going forward. In fact, Bielsa is so adamant on using this tactic that two wingers start ahead of two full-backs in his natural line-up.
Alioski and Stuart Dallas have been reborn as full-backs under Bielsa. They have performed so well that Luke Ayling and Barry Douglas started on the bench last night. This tactic has helped Leeds climb to the top of the league and it continues to work wonders.