Five at the back and defending 1-0 leads is not the way Jesse Marsch hopes to take Leeds United in the weeks and months to come. After more than three years of attacking at all costs under Marcelo Bielsa, it felt like something of a departure to see an injured Rodrigo hobbling off for a defender on Sunday.
The Whites laboured in the latter period of the match as Norwich City began finding space to create danger in, especially once Robin Koch was on the field and Rodrigo’s attacking menace was lost. In this early period, while the fans are still trying to work out what Marsch is about in various match situations, the decision to defend a 1-0 lead against the Premier League’s worst team raised some eyebrows.
However, Marsch has said, generally, he will not look to go into preservation mode within games, but on this occasion, with the second goal proving hard to find, he felt it was necessary.
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“I've said from the beginning, maybe even in the first press conference, I can see the quality of men, not just in the team, but in the club,” he said. “And that is what gives me so much hope for the potential of what this can continue to be.
“We displayed that by, in a tough moment, not giving up. Obviously, the play Raphinha makes is big, but I didn't see the look on faces like it was catastrophic and the game was done.
“I saw looks on faces, like ‘we're going to keep going, we're going to find a way, you know.’ So even for me, we went to five in the back because I could see getting the second goal wasn't going to be easy at around the 70th, 75th minute.
“And so normally, I don't like to go into preservation mode, but I felt like it was necessary, but as soon as we gave up the goal, then I knew we needed to bring Joffy (Joe Gelhardt) on and then obviously he's able to make a big play.
“The quality of people here is big. Maybe it’s as big as I've ever seen and so we're going to continue to use that to help us get better and better.”
The Whites next play on Friday night at Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Molineux home.
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