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Leeds brushed West Brom aside on Friday night at the Hawthorns, and the incredible performance of Ezgjan “Gjanni” Alioski epitomised what Marcelo Bielsa has brought to the club.
Pablo Hernandez scored after just 16 seconds as Leeds completely destroyed the Baggies on Friday night, finally getting revenge for the 4-1 thrashing that Darren Moore’s side dished out at the Hawthorns back in November.
Patrick Bamford will hope to kick back into form now after scoring twice in Friday’s 4-0 win, and practically every player in a white shirt gave at least an eight out of ten performance.
No one was more impressive than Alioski though, who has gone from laughing stock to first name on the team sheet since Bielsa’s arrival at the club, and the gaffer deserves all the credit for it.
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Perfect management
Aforementioned, every single Leeds player will be proud of the way they played on Friday, but Alioski’s engine is like something from another planet.
Deployed at left-back again, a position he has made his own since the injury to Barry Douglas, the 27 year-old touched the ball 72 times and made a remarkable nine tackles.
To put that in perspective, no other player on the pitch managed more than six tackles (Kalvin Phillips) and no West Brom player managed more than just three.
His tap-in at the end was richly deserved for an all-action performance, and these performances are now becoming a regular occurrence for the man who’s most notable trait used to be getting flagged offside 50 times per game.
Put simply, Bielsa has taken an underperforming winger with poor end product, recognised versatility and work rate as the strengths in his game, and deployed him in a position and system where he can do what he does best – bomb up and down the wing and whip crosses in.
The Macedonian international’s end product has then improved as a result of improved performances and confidence, racking up seven goals and five assists despite playing left-back for around half of his appearances.
Practically every player at the club has improved under Bielsa, but Alioski’s transformation from scapegoat to cult hero has been incredible to witness, and the versatile ace epitomises the combination of positive reinforcement and tactical genius that Bielsa has unleashed on his squad.
