2018-19: Bielsa's First-Season Whirlwind and Play-Off Heartbreak

Overview

Marcelo Bielsa's first season at Leeds United brought 83 points, 25 Championship wins, a third-place finish and a footballing identity that transformed the atmosphere around the club. It also ended with one of the most painful play-off exits in recent Leeds history.

A different Leeds

The arrival of Bielsa changed almost everything. Leeds became one of the Championship's most talked-about sides, with an aggressive style, relentless running and a squad of bottom-half Championship-standard players that seemed to have vastly improved from game one. The first game versus Stoke was fans’ first view of Bielsa-ball:

“This Leeds pressing isn't even funny anymore. If Mateusz Klich forces poor Joe Allen any further back, he'll be in 2016 and playing for Liverpool again."

The numbers were strong: 46 league matches, 25 wins, eight draws, 13 defeats and 83 points. Leeds finished third behind Norwich City and Sheffield United.

The key players

Kemar Roofe finished as top scorer with 15 goals, while Pablo Hernandez supplied 12 assists. Leeds also recorded 17 clean sheets during the campaign.

The team combined experienced players with a generation of emerging talent, creating a side that could dominate possession, attack quickly and make Elland Road feel like one of the Championship's most intimidating grounds.

The automatic promotion race

For much of the campaign, Leeds were firmly in contention for automatic promotion. But the final weeks changed the picture.

A 2-1 home defeat to Wigan Athletic was followed by more dropped points, and Leeds entered the play-offs instead of securing an automatic place.

The Derby County semi-final

The first leg at Pride Park could hardly have gone better. Leeds won 1-0, taking a valuable advantage back to Elland Road.

Then came the second leg.

Derby won 4-2 at Elland Road, making the aggregate score 4-3 to Derby. Leeds' season was over. Berardi's late sending off, and Liam Cooper and Casilla dithering were pounced upon by Derby to cull a promising season.

The Bielsa effect

Promotion was missed, but the season had changed expectations at the club. Leeds had gone from a side searching for a direction to one of the Championship's defining teams. And Leeds fans had grown by learning more about the ethics of Bielsa.

The football was fast, intense and distinctive, and Bielsa's influence extended well beyond the final league position.

Why 2018-19 belongs in Leeds United history

The final result says third place and a play-off semi-final defeat.

It doesn't fully capture the season.

2018-19 was the year Leeds discovered Bielsa-ball, when a generation of players became established and when the club once again felt capable of competing at the top end of the Championship. When ethics and fair play were topics of conversation among fans, not just the first eleven team selection.

The club and fans grew that year - in a way they all matured. Matured in a way that help them to grow out of the years of hurt that had been pinning the club down, and grow back to finding a way back into the Premier League.

The heartbreak of Derby was real. So was the sense that something important had begun.