Leeds United's 4-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion in November 2018 remains the heaviest defeat of the Marcelo Bielsa era - but Adam Forshaw believes it was an learning invaluable experience for the side.
The Whites ended their 16-year Premier League exile in style this season, romping to the Championship title as they finished ten points ahead of the Baggies in Bielsa's sophomore season in English football.
Leeds were knocked off top spot when West Brom handed them that heavy defeat ahead of an international break last season, but the side would regroup and win their next seven games to ensure they began 2019 as Championship leaders.
While that campaign would ultimately end in playoff failure, the lessons learned on that night at the Hawthorns helped sew the seeds for their Championship-winning campaign this time out.
"We lost at West Brom 4-1 last season," Forshaw recalled when on commentary duty for LUTV at Derby County last weekend.
"It was one of the best lessons for us. For two weeks we watched videos, videos, videos. That was a blessing. We then went and won eight on the bounce or something leading up to Christmas. That really nailed down how we wanted to play."
This focus after Bielsa looked to address the key failing in the Baggies defeat.
"We didn't adapt well to their changes in formation throughout the game," Forshaw continued. "We just learned from it really well."
Moments like that show how Bielsa's meticulous nature and detailed understanding of the game gets filtered down to his playing squad.
"You don't just go out and play the game under him," Forshaw added. "You obliviously have to understand what to do, when to do it, when teams do different things against you. It's gaining a knowledge really, instead of just going out and performing."
Forshaw missed the majority of the 2019-20 campaign but is set to return to full training in time for the club's pre-season campaign.
The Premier League season is due to start on September 12.
