Leeds United 2021/22 Recap – The Whites cling on to top-flight status, but what next?
In their 2021/22 Premier League campaign, Leeds United achieved what they had set out to. They maintained their status in the top flight. But that didn’t come easy for the Yorkshire side. It even cost Elland Road favourite Marcelo Bielsa his job along the way.
With some of their best players being targeted in the summer transfer market, can Leeds find a way to thrive, or at the very least survive next term?
Sophomore season struggles
Leeds returned to the top flight of English football for the start of the 2020/21 season. They ended a sixteen-year absence to regain their place among the elite. Leeds defied expectations in that first season back at the top.
They racked up some impressive Premier League results and banked a top ten finish at the end of the campaign. A lot of people were expecting them to build on that the following season. It was a strong platform from which to push on even further in the 2021/22 campaign and perhaps even challenge for a place in Europe.
Things didn’t pan out that way at all for The Whites as instead, they ended up in a tense fight for survival. It’s one that they eventually won, but the clear sophomore struggles in their second season back will have raised concerns.
Slow start hints at struggles
There was a slow start to the Premier League season for Leeds, who failed to win any of their first seven games. On the opening weekend, they were hammered 5-1 by great rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford. It was a deflating way to start a new campaign.
The first win of the season for Leeds came in early October when they edged out Watford 1-0 at Elland Road. But Leeds couldn’t build on that success, failing to get any kind of consistency or momentum going.
Throughout the first half of the season, Leeds had won only three matches. December was extremely rough for Leeds, who earned one point from four matches in the month. They conceded a total of sixteen goals in those four matches, including a 7-0 drubbing at the hands of eventual champions Manchester City.
New year, new hope
In January 2022 things began to look a bit brighter for the Yorkshire side. Victories over Burnley and then at West Ham, saw Leeds make a positive start to the new calendar year. The optimism quickly and severely crashed, however.
Following their 3-2 success at West Ham in mid-January, Leeds collected only one point from their next eight league fixtures. The slide towards the relegation zone was real, the pressure was mounting on manager Marcelo Bielsa.
The defensive side of Leeds’ game was just in ruin. In that run of eight matches, they conceded at least three goals in five of the fixtures.
The much-loved Bielsa, who had joined Leeds back in 2018 and who had guided them back to the top-flight was sacked after a 4-0 loss at home against Tottenham in late February. At the time it was the fourth loss in a row for Leeds.
A turn to left field for salvation
To try and salvage their situation, Leeds called on former RB Leipzig head coach Jesse Marsch. The American didn’t last half a season with the Bundesliga club, before parting ways with them in December 2021. His record with Leipzig was W7 D4 L6.
In February, Marsch was unveiled at Elland Road as the new head coach of Leeds, putting pen to paper on a three-year deal. It was an appointment that few really saw coming. When Leeds fell to defeats against Leicester and Aston Villa in Marsch’s first two matches in charge, fans were naturally concerned.
But Marsch got his first win with Leeds at the third attempt, a 2-1 home success to Norwich. That sparked a run of five unbeaten matches by Leeds, winning three of those. It eased a little pressure on them, but not enough that they could rest on their laurels.
Nervy finish as Leeds falter again
For their run into the end of the season in Premier League fixtures, Leeds had a three-match sequence where they faced Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea, all of which were top-six finishers in the table.
They lost each of those and a 1-1 draw with Brighton in their penultimate match meant that heading into the final game of the season, they were level on points with Burnley. Leeds however, were in the drop zone because of a considerably worse goal difference.
The picture for them on the final day was simple. They had to better whatever result Burnley could manage at home against Newcastle. For their final game of the season, Leeds visited Brentford. A converted penalty kick early in the second half from Raphina gave Leeds the lead.
12 minutes from time, they were pegged back. As the clock edged towards 90 minutes, Leeds were safe by a point. At the same time, Burnley were looking for an equaliser against Newcastle that would have saved them and relegated Leeds.
The Clarets couldn’t find an equaliser at Turf Moor, while in the 90th minute of their game in London, Leeds sank a winner courtesy of midfielder Jack Harrison. With that dramatic late intervention, Leeds fans could celebrate survival.
The void opens
On their return to the Premier League in the 2020/21 season, Leeds collected a total of 59 points. Last season it was just 38 that they tallied up, which is a massive drop. Breaking down the season analytically the problem areas for Leeds were clear.
They lost all twelve fixtures played against the teams who finished in the top six. Their record, home and away, against Top 10 finishers was only W2 D4 L14. So Leeds never had enough in the tank when it came to taking on the stronger teams.
Five of the nine league victories that Leeds did manage to record, came against the three teams that finished beneath them (Burnley, Watford and Norwich). Norwich, who finished bottom of the table, were the only team to concede more goals than Leeds did last season.
Of all Premier League teams in the 2021/22 season, Leeds were one of only three teams that conceded 70+ goals.
Concerns for the new season?
One of the big stars of Leeds over the last two seasons has been Brazilian midfielder/winger Raphina. The creative, quick-thinking 25-year-old now has plenty of other clubs coveting him. Some of the latest sports news headlines have him linked to Arsenal specifically.
Other possible purchasers include Tottenham, Chelsea, Newcastle and even Barcelona depending on where you look. Regardless, Raphina may be on his way after two seasons at Elland Road.
Leeds would be sensible to cash in on him, although his departure would be a big loss for Leeds on the pitch. Raphina was their top scorer in the Premier League last season with eleven goals.
Raphina was called up to the Brazilian national team for the first time last year. He will naturally harbour international ambitions. Those will be easier to achieve at a bigger club. Leeds have already seen defensive midfielder Kalvin Philips get snapped up by Man City this summer.
The road ahead for Leeds next season is naturally going to be a lot tougher because of significant departures. How they spend the money from summer sales is going to be huge.
Latest Premier League Relegation Odds
Bournemouth 8/11
Nottingham Forest 10/11
Fulham 6/5
Leeds 5/2
Brentford 5/2
Southampton 3/1
Everton 10/3
Wolves 4/1
Crystal Palace 5/1
Brighton 8/1
What positives are ahead?
Leeds had a terrible time of things during the 2021/22 Premier League from an injury perspective. They had long spells of missing key players and just not being able to field their strongest side.
Having a lack of depth in the squad was pretty telling. Striker Patrick Bamford, who netted 17 goals in the 2020/21 Premier League season for Leeds, made only 9 appearances last season.
Even the aforementioned Kalvin Phillips was only able to put in 17 appearances. Looking ahead they will do well to hang on to Jack Harrison, who was their second-highest scorer last term.
But they need reinforcements in attack and defence. In attack, getting a fully fit Bamford back is like making a new signing. The Elland Road outfit have also been linked to Blackburn Rovers attacker Ben Brereton-Diaz who scored 22 Championship goals last term.
Defensive issues could be more of a Marsch thing to fix tactically, perhaps reining in their gung-ho approach. Under Bielsa, Leeds played a very high-tempo, high-pressing game that was a roller-coaster to watch.
There hasn’t been enough time to really assess which way Marsch is going to take Leeds. Finding some defensive output has to be of high concern.
What are realistic goals for 2022/23?
Given the stressful season that they just had, Leeds would probably be happy with a mid-table finish next season. Especially considering that they have already lost Kalvin Phillips and the increasingly-likely departure of Raphina.
Last season Leeds lost all home games against the top seven finishers. The season before that they had drawn against each of the top four at Elland Road.
They need to find ways to make Elland Road an intimidating place for teams to visit once again. Three of their four wins on home turf last season were against the teams that suffered relegation.
The first of their Premier League fixtures next term is at home against Wolverhampton, giving them a reasonable chance at making a positive start.
But this is a relatively inexperienced manager at the helm, trying to pick up the pieces of a massively disappointing season. What lies ahead?
