The unsolved Leeds United mysteries and pressing questions - Graham Smyth

How did Patrick Bamford and Helder Costa miss those two chances, from perfect left-wing deliveries?

A tentative post-game suggestion that the floodlights had somehow caught the eyes of both men would at least explain why Bamford appeared to lose the flight of the ball completely and fall under it, rather than crashing home a cross that deserved a goal.

Marcelo Bielsa, who would not have had time to debrief the players on such a matter before leaving the changing room to complete his press duties, was none the wiser. Jack Harrison, who also joined the media after his ice bath, could shed no more light on the matter.

The chances were just two of many Leeds created, some of which begged to be put away, but somehow, again, the Whites wasted opportunities to do to Luton what they did to a far better side in Fulham.

Bielsa has often acknowledged the fact that his team require too many bites at the apple and two seasons in, despite masterminding and squeezing so many improvements out of so many areas in this team, efficiency remains a problem.

As do corners.

We know Bielsa likes the pace Kalvin Phillips generates on deliveries and we know he currently favours that short ball to Stuart Dallas, who then tries to swing in a cross from a more favourable angle, but we also know it’s not working.

Time and time again on Tuesday, Leeds wasted corners, to a point where they didn’t look at all convinced they could fashion a chance from one.

‘Watch the drill,’ yelled Nathan Jones at his defenders, correctly spotting that Phillips was lining up a variation, a flat ball to the far side of the area, but the pass was behind its intended target and within the blink of an eye Illan Meslier was in possession.

The players took it upon themselves to try and mix it up further, shaping to take a quick corner as the bench appeared to try and overrule them, to no avail, but it simply led to another corner.

It was almost cruel to persist with Phillips as each one came and went without joy.

They won 15 of them and although Jack Harrison was deployed to the corner flag in the second half, Leeds’ goal came from a lovely open-play move.

Maybe, as Mateusz Klich suggested half-jokingly, this team just isn’t physically built to profit from corners.

It remains a mystery, however, that the man who can so effectively drill such wonderful, slick passing moves into his players that they become second nature, has not made them more of a threat from set-pieces.

Football, as Bielsa is fond of saying, is like that. It’s full of mysteries and that is part of its charm – tell that to Leeds fans screaming at their LUTV stream on Tuesday.

Even when explanations are given – like in the mysterious case of Jean-Kevin Augustin – football can still confound.

He couldn’t get up to speed again following his recovery from injury and won’t feature again this season. We could speculate on the whys and wherefores for longer than the 48 minutes he has played for Leeds, but it’s an inquest best held in the summer, when both Leeds’ and Augustin’s futures are known.

There are now more pressing questions, not least Saturday’s selection – should Stuart Dallas miss out on Saturday, Gjanni Alioski is primed to come in, having performed so well in the last two games and Gaetano Berardi has done well deputising for Liam Cooper.

But how do Leeds, as a team, reach the heights they hit before the pandemic hit? How do they recover momentum?

The problems encountered since the restart have varied.

At Cardiff it was concentration and accuracy. Against Fulham, in the first half at least, it was creativity and organisation. Against Luton, ultimately, it was efficiency.

Is the answer to much of the above simply Pablo Hernandez and as many minutes as Leeds can get out of him in the run in?

How much of a part does sheer bad luck play? Both Cardiff and Luton were clinical, but their goals said more about seizing an unexpected moment, or moments in the Cardiff game, than they did about Leeds’ failings.

It’s a fickle game and it doesn’t even always make sense when you win, but its mysteries are less of a headache. A win on Saturday at Blackburn Rovers won’t solve everything but it would be a tonic.