A year after humbling defeat Leeds United beat Crystal Palace to keep proving Marcelo Bielsa's plan works - Graham Smyth's Verdict

The 2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest in the midst of a poor run feels like a lifetime ago now because of all that has transpired in the intervening 52 weeks – a global pandemic, promotion, a record signing and some remarkable results in a first top flight season in 16 years.

Twelve months on from that bitterly cold, bitterly disappointing afternoon at the City Ground, the Whites are a mid-table Premier League side.

And as they zipped the ball around a beleaguered Crystal Palace en route to a comfortable 2-0 victory that pushed them up to 10th, it was easy to wonder what all the early 2020 fuss had been about.

At the time Marcelo Bielsa was as defiant as ever, insisting his players had not only given everything but were better than the opposition who had beaten them 2-0.

It felt like siege mentality had set in as he pre-empted criticism by reiterating his faith in the team and the plan.

“I never give up, I always fight. I never stop believing, I always keep faith,” he said.

But while Bielsa sat in the press room batting away questions, Luke Ayling was giving a pitchside interview that betrayed the emotional damage inflicted by the defeat, along with others at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday, QPR and Wigan Athletic in the four weeks prior.

“No beating around the bush, it’s just not good enough,” said the right-back, a dejected, pale shadow of the bubbly joker Leeds fans had grown to love.

Three days later Leeds went to fellow promotion hopefuls Brentford, made a mockery of Thomas Frank’s pre-game assertion that the Whites would be fearful, and picked up what felt like a hugely significant 1-1 draw.

The rest is glorious history. Leeds proved that they were, as Bielsa had said, superior. The plan was more than good enough then and it has been more than good enough this season.

Taking to the Premier League like ducks to water hasn’t quashed all doubt in the head coach – it’s football’s reactive second nature to question even proven wisdom after a poor result or two.

Despite outperforming the other two newly-promoted clubs by a country mile, Bielsa’s methods and philosophy have come under even heavier scrutiny this season than last, the Premier League media machine chewing up something new and unfamiliar and spitting it out without taking the time to really digest what’s been going on at Leeds.

The consecutive 4-1 defeats by Leicester City and Palace led to derision over Leeds’ constant insistence on attack, yet a few months later, playing the exact same way, they have earned revenge with wins over both. The plan never changed, they just did it better.

That insistence on attacking football put them ahead in just the third minute. Getting the ball wide and working it quickly inside has always been the Leeds way, under Bielsa, and when Stuart Dallas cut towards the middle before flicking the ball into the feet of Jack Harrison, the winger’s right-footed strike and a deflection off Gary Cahill did the rest.

An early goal didn’t deter Palace from their plan of countering but chances to do so were few and far between in a comfortable opening period for Leeds.

The visitors’ press was too passive and the Whites had too much time to play their stuff, which led to more chances.

Gjanni Alioski and Dallas sent in crosses for Patrick Bamford who brought a good save from Vincente Guaita with the first and sent the second well wide.

And even when Palace did settle and enjoy their first little spell, the Whites remained a threat, Bamford nicking the ball off last man Cahill, winning the foot race to the area but getting his finish all wrong.

Cahill’s night went from bad to worse when Raphinha produced an outrageous turn and nutmegged him in a moment that was clipped and going viral on social media before VAR had checked if the defender’s ensuing foul had taken place in the box.

It hadn’t, but Raphinha fired the free-kick into the area with serious pace and found Pascal Struijk, who couldn’t direct his header.

Another free-kick, delivered from deep this time, flicked off the head of Cahill and Guaita gathered on his line.

The Brazilian is the undoubted signing of the season for Leeds and was the undoubted star of the first half, showcasing more of his silky dribbling skill and pace before the break. Bielsa values dribbling because done well it removes the need to involve too many players or too many passes - "Of course we desire a player who can dribble and resolve the situation without having to combine too much." Raphinha has it in abundance, along with an understanding of when to do it and when to link up with team-mates in the way Bielsa wishes.

After the break, it was the old favourites, players steeped in Bielsa’s football, who took the game away from Palace.

It was seven minutes old when Mateusz Klich slid a perfect through ball into the area for Raphinha whose shot was well saved only for Bamford to sidefoot in the rebound. Bamford, written off around this time last year due to missed chances, never fell from Bielsa’s favour and has repaid him with 12 top-flight goals to date. It was his pressing that kept Palace under the cosh in the lead up to the goal.

Klich has been in danger of experiencing what Bamford went through due to a recent dip in form, but against Palace looked much more like himself and after the goal started to clip the ball around with swagger. Bielsa later agreed that the midfielder had played like he was back at his best.

When he scooped a clever pass over the top, Bamford briefly threatened to steal in and add to the scoreline.

When he slotted Alioski into space on the right, the left-back had Bamford in the middle but pulled it behind him.

It wasn’t all Leeds, the game opened up and an Ayling mistake allowed Michy Batshuayi to feed Eberechi Eze in the area and he found the empty South Stand. When Palace got the ball forward they found Liam Cooper, who has settled into life in the Premier League very nicely indeed, in rock solid form and beside him Struijk was nearly as good.

Both keepers made saves and Harrison clipped the bar but the job was long done by the time Kalvin Phillips’ 200th appearance for Leeds ended in the 87th minute, an injury forcing him from the field.

The lesson to learn from Bielsa and the past year at Elland Road is not to get carried away.

He didn’t when they were at their lowest ebb at the City Ground and he won’t now that others are talking about Europe. "It's too early " he said when the subject of Europa League qualification was broached. "Right now we don't have the consistency to imagine any higher up the table."

What they have is a plan and plenty of faith in it. Results will continue to go for and against Leeds and their Premier League position may change before the season is out, but the plan will not.