According to an article by Yorkshire Evening Post, no team in Englands top six tiers has conceded fewer goals than Leeds United.
The majority of our standout players this season are either defenders or defensive midfielders, so it’s hardly surprising that we are excelling defensively. Leeds have conceded just eight goals in the Championship so far this season; the only other team to come close to that figure is York in the National League North, who have conceded just nine goals this season.
To be at such a low number of goals conceded in the second-highest tier of English football is even more impressive considering the closet rival to that stat in the Championship is Sheffield Wednesday on 12.
Defensively our stats are mind-blowing, we average 18.5 tackles, 10.3 interceptions and 12 fouls per game. A bit like how sides stop Manchester City’s build-up play, the fouls could actually be the key stat in finding out why we are so defensively solid. If Marcelo Bielsa is instructing the side to disrupt the opponent’s flow, it’ll be very hard for anyone to build momentum against us.
Individual performances from Kalvin Phillips and Ben White also have to be taken into account, with neither of the defenders averaging a WhoScored rating below 7/10. The duo also averages 5.4 aerial duels per match, which will be deterring teams from taking a long-ball approach.
Whether you think it’s Bielsa’s tactics or individual defensive efforts, this is a very good sign for the club’s promotion push. If we keep up this particular level of defensive solidity up throughout the season, then hopefully the attacking side of our squad can start to pick up the pace in terms of finding the back of the net. Should they do that, then there should be no reason as to why we can’t obtain automatic promotion to the Premier League this season.