Jurgen Klopp is the latest opposition boss to zero in on the most unique and threatening aspect of Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United: their man-marking.
A staple of post-match press conferences in the Bielsa era is opposition bosses waxing lyrical about how rare and intense it is to see a football team defend as United do.
The Whites go man for man without the ball, meaning all 10 opposition players will have been assigned to a United man, who will shadow him all match when he has the ball.
Many opponents have pointed out how difficult that is to play against and how unusual it is to see, especially in the Championship, because of how fit players need to be to enforce it.
Premier League champions Liverpool host the Whites next Saturday at Anfield in a 5.30pm kick-off and Klopp has spoken about the visitors for the first time.
Speaking after the Reds annihilated League One Blackpool in a friendly yesterday, Klopp said: “We have to make sure we now get ready for the first game against Leeds because that will be a really tough one.
“Leeds have a specific style of play, man-marking over the whole pitch and makes it proper intense.
“We have to be ready for that, but we have a few days. Hopefully, all the other boys now stay healthy in the international games, then they come back and we have three days to work together on that.”
