Some football clubs have bogey teams, but it seems as if Leeds United have a bogey player.
Indeed, for one reason or another Lukas Jutkiewicz seems to have some of his best performances against the Whites.
Well, we say ‘for one reason or another’, but it’s actually quite clear as to why the striker comes good against the Whites.
It’s simple really, and it’s something Leeds should have picked up on last season. Of course, it’s the aerial threat that he poses.
Last term Birmingham were one of only two teams in the league to do a double over Leeds, and Jutkiewicz was huge in that.
The striker’s partnership with Che Adams caused Leeds loads of problems last term. His teammate netted three times in two games against the Yorkshire outfit, but it was the former Burnley man’s aerial presence that caused Leeds the most problems.
He won 24 aerial duels across two games last term, winning a staggering 18 at St Andrew’s.
He didn’t quite match his tally of 18 on Sunday, but he still won eight, which is more than any other player on the pitch.
United should have seen this coming and counteracted it by either sticking two defenders on him or stopping the balls being played into him.
Marcelo Bielsa’s preparation is usually impeccable ahead of games with famous stories of dossiers on certain teams often doing the rounds, but he seems to be at a loss when it comes to stopping Jutkiewicz.
The striker found the net twice on Sunday, and one of the strikes was created via his aerial presence as he forced Kiko Casilla to make a mistake with a headed effort before slotting home the rebound.
Luckily, Leeds’ attack was on form as they netted five goals, but if they hadn’t been at the races it could have been another day in which Jutkiewicz almost single-handedly cost United points.
If Bielsa’s side are to be promoted they need to improve their ability to deal with these types of strikers or else they will continue to come unstuck when playing against target men.
In other news, Leeds fans have been slamming one of their players.
