The hidden trick up Marcelo Bielsa’s sleeve was always the breakneck counter-attack.
As a rule, his football at Leeds United did what it said on the tin. Leeds liked to control possession, lay siege to the final third and make the Championship dance to their tune. If Bielsa’s tactics came as a surprise, homework was not the opposition’s strong point.
But in isolated moments, his team were immense at playing possum. In deep areas with the opposition on the ball, they could force turnovers and break forward in a flash, cutting open sides who were lulled into thinking they were not immediately vulnerable. Some of their best goals under Bielsa were forged in that way, but on Sunday, at Millwall, came an attack to rival any of them — a rapid blitz finished off by Joel Piroe.
“You can put it straight away in a book and sell it,” said a beaming Daniel Farke. “It’s so wonderful.”
Joel Piroe scored a goal for the ages at Millwall (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
If that sounded like hyperbole, it is worth remembering what the Championship actually is: a hard and close league with an incredibly even baseline standard, one which delivers sparkling moments at fairly sporadic intervals.
“That’s what a team like Leeds can do,” said Millwall manager Gary Rowett and it is already obvious that negating Farke’s squad this season will involve containing one of the strongest attacking lines in the division. Both Sunday and Leeds’ win at Ipswich Town last month have shown the consequences of trying to fight fire with fire.
The impression that Farke is sitting on a luxury of resources at the top end of his team is underlined by what happened in the transfer window. Piroe’s credentials when United signed him from Swansea City spoke for themselves, given he was already proven as a 20-goal striker in the Championship, but the interest that Leeds themselves rejected reminded them that they were sitting on a small stockpile of higher-level footballers.
Everton tried and failed to get Willy Gnonto. Burnley tried and failed to get Crysencio Summerville. United said no to approaches from Europe for Georginio Rutter and are finally seeing him emerge from the mist of his £30million ($37m) move from Hoffenheim. “They’ll go on to be a very good team under Daniel,” Rowett said, which is largely how it feels.
Piroe’s goal on 15 minutes at The Den, the final touch of a move which started outside Leeds’ own box, set the tone for one of the most convincing victories United have ever produced away to Millwall, a venue which has been their nemesis.
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By the time it was converted, they were emerging from an early onslaught of pressure to make the contest more balanced again and the precision of the counter made Millwall realise what would happen if they failed to keep Farke’s attack on a leash. They were caught on the hop twice more late on as United’s 1-0 advantage turned into a 3-0 win, but it was the opening goal that had Farke eulogising.
The move started with Leeds in danger of conceding themselves, via a short pass from goalkeeper Illan Meslier which put Luke Ayling under pressure on the right side of the pitch. Ayling found himself prostrate on the ground, unable to do much more than flick his head at the ball which prompted appeals from the home crowd for a penalty.
While that shout was fanciful and waved away by referee Chris Kavanagh, there was a stronger claim moments later for a foul by Piroe on Kevin Nisbet, the moment where possession turned over and Millwall were exposed. Kavanagh, from the first whistle, let a lot go and avoided booking anyone over 90 minutes, despite several incidents where he might have done so.
In Leeds’ previous game, a goalless draw with Sheffield Wednesday at Elland Road, they were restricted by Wednesday’s concerted reluctance to commit bodies forward and leave themselves open. Millwall, with a sell-out crowd around them, took a different approach and in the instant where Piroe challenged Nisbet to win the ball, they had nine players in United’s half (two of whom are out of shot in the image below), creating room for Leeds to go at.
One quick pass from Archie Gray to the feet of Rutter created a three-on-three in Millwall’s half, with Piroe a little further back but ready to support. It is a scenario in which Farke would back the quality of his forwards to pay off.
Farke has been using Piroe as a No 10 behind Rutter, preferring the latter as his centre-forward. The two were effective in a 4-3 victory at Ipswich but found it harder to connect against Sheffield Wednesday. On Sunday, though, Farke got exactly what he wanted from them during the move for the first goal: Piroe arriving late unmarked, going beyond the last man and giving Rutter a target to aim for inside the box. Out wide, Gnonto and Summerville had the pace to stretch Millwall, weakening their resistance.
A narrow Millwall back three, minus much help from retreating wing-backs, did their bit to help by firstly giving Gnonto room to take a pass out wide and then splitting apart as Ryan Leonard moved out to meet him.
Leonard’s repositioning left a large gap between him and Jake Cooper, a hole which Piroe was free to burst through.
The striker anticipated a through ball from Rutter by stepping over Gnonto’s square pass and leaving it to Rutter behind him.
The weight on the final delivery is perfect and Piroe buries a perfect chance for a finisher of his standard, slotting it into the far corner of Bialkowski’s net.
Fourteen touches was all it took for the ball to move from Gray’s feet outside United’s area to the back of Millwall’s net. The midfielder’s choice of pass to Rutter was a good one but Leeds were ready for the turnover because, as Gray came away with possession, he had Summerville going through a gap to his right and Gnonto in acres of room to his left; a variety of options in front of him. Piroe is a good 10 yards behind but, as he did for his tap-in at Ipswich, covers the ground swiftly to get himself involved. By the time possession crosses halfway, any protection offered to Millwall by their midfield is completely gone.
Farke, to coin a phrase from the 1990s, is conjuring some sexy football in the traditions of what Leeds enjoyed the last time they played in the Championship.
It is not without creases — and it was not as if parts of Sunday’s rousing win did not reprise another Championship tradition: that of the classic second-tier scrap. But Piroe’s goal, the speed of it and the aggression one-on-one was a thing of beauty. And it is tempting to think there is more where that came from.
