Rotten luck, VAR suggestion and Diego Llorente's return - Leeds United Talking Points

One that got away

Whites head coach Marcelo Bielsa commendably refused to link Friday's reverse at Molineux to misfortune and said his side needed to go above and beyond to ensure that luck was not a factor.

But there is no denying that the Gods were not exactly on United's side, be it through Adama Traore's freakish winner or Patrick Bamford's disallowed goal for offside.

That said, even allowing for those two incidents, Leeds still had more than enough chances to take all three points, never mind a draw, with 18 attempts at goal compared to 15 from Wolves.

Leeds have definitely improved this season when it comes to taking chances but this was one of those where too many opportunities went begging and ultimately an opportunity missed to bag another three points.

Patrick Bamford's latest VAR dismay

Whites no 9 Patrick Bamford looked to have drawn Leeds level with a stunning strike after being played in by Tyler Roberts, only to be greeted by an offside flag.

VAR then checked the incident and the odd thing about this latest episode is that at first glance Bamford looked offside to the naked eye in real time replay.

But the striker then looked onside on the freeze frame until VAR's not so wonderful lines judged the striker to be offside via his knee being just in front of Conor Coady's trailing foot.

Even that looked debatable given the angle of the lines and whatever happens with VAR, surely the best answer to all of this is to just judge when a player is offside by his feet and not other parts of the anatomy.

The latest Kalvin Phillips replacement

Whites head coach Marcelo Bielsa opted to once again play Pascal Struijk in the holding midfield role in the previous weekend's defeat at Arsenal in the absence of the injured Kalvin Phillips but Jamie Shackleton was given the nod against Wolves.

That looked a good call with Struijk definitely better at centre back and Shackleton had a steady enough game in the position without reaching the usual levels of Phillips which is understandable given that Phillips is an England international.

But Diego Llorente is now back from injury and perhaps he could be given a go in the holding midfield role at some point.

Bielsa said Llorente's involvement would depend on the needs of the team and the Spanish international is a definite option, be it at centre back or as a CDM for Tuesday's clash against Southampton at Elland Road.

Longer term, Leeds could do with a natural replacement for Phillips in times of need yet the Whites ultimately should have probably still won at Wolves.

With Shackleton always reliable, Bielsa will probably name an unchanged side against the Saints, unless of course Phillips or Rodrigo happen to be back from injury.

Shackleton is a hugely likable young player who is full of energy and it remains to be seen what his best position will be - possibly as a no 8 given what he can also add from a creative sphere.

https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/football/leeds-united/angus-kinnear-reflects-on-leeds-uniteds-size-and-scale-global-interest-and-aim-for-top-six-3141761

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Thank you Laura Collins