Leeds United’s set-piece “problem” will surely worry fans | OneFootball

Leeds Live’s Beren Cross has delivered his verdict on Leeds United’s set-piece “problem” under Marcelo Bielsa.

What’s the story?

While the Whites may not have conceded from a corner or free-kick at the weekend against Southampton, their defensive frailties from those situations were clear for all to see, with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side going close a number of times.

And now, responding to a question from a fan about when Leeds’ struggles with set-pieces would finally get sorted out, Cross said: “Well, Bielsa’s been here three years and it’s a problem which still rears its head at times. Saturday certainly stood out for the wrong reasons. I’m amazed Southampton did not score in the first half from open play or from the danger they were creating at corners.

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“We sound like broken records if we keep going on about it, but you’re right, it’s a problem which has never really gone away, though there have been some decent spells. The goal chalked off against Watford technically came from a set-piece too.”

Concern for Leeds

Last season saw Leeds finish rank-bottom in the entire Premier League for most goals conceded from a set-piece with 15, while they’ve conceded twice from those already this campaign.

As Cross says, it was quite incredible that Southampton didn’t actually manage to convert one of their many chances on goal from corners, such was the kind of chaos and confusion in the Leeds box.

Whether it’s a change in system, or a case of the personnel not being quite right, the Whites have had a long-standing problem under Bielsa when defending their own goal from set-pieces.

Given the kind of meticulous detail that Bielsa works towards, having something like set-pieces be an Achilles heel when you can be doing so much work on the training ground during the week, is certainly concerning.