Leeds United fell to defeat at the hands of Dean Smith's Aston Villa yesterday evening.
It was the first time the former Brentford manager has got one over on Marcelo Bielsa - at his fifth attempt of doing so.
An ex-Brentford man was partly responsible for putting the visitors ahead when Ollie Watkins' skewed cross found Anwar El-Ghazi in behind Leeds United's defence.
The Dutch-born Moroccan slotted in to give his old boss Bielsa a problem, a blow which Leeds failed to recover from.
El-Ghazi started on the left-hand side of Villa's attack, going up against Luke Ayling for the duration of the game. While Ayling did not have too much trouble with the Villa man, Dean Smith supposedly made attempts to unsettle the Leeds full-back with repeated touchline jibes.
BirminghamLive journalist Ashley Preece revealed that Smith was in Ayling's ear throughout the second half. He wrote:
"During the game, Smith also kept making Leeds' Luke Ayling laugh and smirk in annoyance as the Villa boss kept telling El Ghazi he had the better of Leeds' right-back which, of course, he did.
"Ayling, meanwhile, was having none of it while it was Smith's gamesmanship which did the trick."
Given Ayling had a relatively solid game, it is hard to make the judgement call that Smith's comments were effective, but it does provide insight into the differing styles of the two managers in opposing technical areas.
The notion of Bielsa goading opposition players from the dugout is something which after almost three years at Leeds, seems incomprehensible.
On the other hand, Smith clearly felt these mental tactics might aid his team in securing a positive result.
According to Opta, over 50% of Villa's attacks came down the left-hand side, which occupied Luke Ayling whenever the Villans made a rare foray forward.
Ayling was not on post-match press duty meaning he could not pass comment on Smith's attempts to distract him.
Although, given how Ayling tends to conduct his duties on the pitch, it is unlikely he will have allowed himself to be affected.
