After 55 games the Championship has officially stolen Marcelo Bielsa’s heart.
The Leeds United head coach could not hide the joy and pride he took from coming up against a supposed struggler like Barnsley and watching them go toe to toe with him.
While the Whites departed Oakwell with all three points, few observers would argue the visitors dominated in the way they have done in 90 per cent of Bielsa’s games.
Barnsley were tenacious, committed, swift and hard-working. They impressed Bielsa, drawing some of the strongest praise we have heard from the Argentine in his time here.
On another day the Tykes would have come away with the win, let alone the draw, based on the chances they carved out and the way they successfully pressed United.
Daniel Stendel’s side now sit 22nd, in the second tier’s relegation zone, and yet they competed with the division’s best team for long spells of Sunday’s match.
It’s the essence of the Championship and Bielsa has fallen head over heels for it.
“It was a match we deserved to win, but we could have lost and we could have drawn as well,” he said.
“[A] very good opponent, we have to say it. [A] young team. They ran a lot. They try, always, to play.
“The team is better than the addition of each player they have (the sum of their parts).
“Congratulations to their manager and their players as well. It’s an honest team.
“Honestly, it’s incredible, this championship is so special to me that one team like this one is at the bottom of the table.”
Bielsa reiterated the most important aspect of the day, for him, was the spectacle the teams put on in an end-to-end contest.
It was the visitors’ intensity which eventually told, he said.
“We insist a lot. We kept going with the same intensity. Also, sometimes, we were lucky to score or receive a goal, work has an impact,” he said.
“For me, the most important [thing] was it was a beautiful match. I feel everybody who watched the match enjoyed it.”
