Marcelo Bielsa should consider Luke Ayling switch to bring ‘serenity’ back to Leeds United team

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Leeds United’s exciting start to the Premier League season came crashing down to earth in their last two fixtures, as first Leicester City and then Crystal Palace turned Marcelo Bielsa’s men over in consecutive 4-1 drubbings. 

The fixture before that, saw Leeds take Aston Villa out to pasture with a scintillating 3-0 win. After that game, some fans and pundits were openly opining on a potential European spot come the end of the season. 

So should Leeds resort to the tactic that did them so well against Aston Villa. Namely, should they switch Luke Ayling back to centre-back. 

With Liam Cooper out injured for that game, Leeds had no option but to switch the full-back inside.

Ayling went on to have a stunning game for Leeds. He nullified the attacking threat of Ollie Watkins with ease but also proved an excellent base for Leeds United attacks, carrying the ball out from defence and playing accurate passes into midfield. 

“He was quick, he was agile,” Bielsa told the press after the game, as reported by Leeds Live. “He defended well, he headed well. He used the ball well and he transmitted serenity to the rest of the team.”

It also allowed Stuart Dallas to play on his favoured foot at right-back and brought in the threat of Gjanni Alioski at left-back which worked brilliantly at pushing back the Aston Villa full-back. 

Who would drop out of centre-back? Robin Koch has impressed some but he has also been prone to an error whilst Cooper is captain, so the German would be the likely candidate. 

But given Ayling’s superb performance and Leeds’ drop-off since, perhaps it is time to revert to this winning tactic in their next fixture against Arsenal.