A thread for non-Leeds fans about the team Marcelo Bielsa used away against Aston Villa last night. The home side were hitherto unbeaten in the league this season & according to Transfermarkt their squad is worth approximately £280m. The match finished 3-0 to the visitors. #lufc

20 year old Illan Meslier made his 6th Premiership appearance, which was also just his 16th start in English football. Last night was the young French keeper’s 9th clean sheet under Bielsa. He was signed from then Ligue 2 side Lorient for £5m. France U21s reserve keeper. #lufc

Leeds allowed their only dedicated left-back to leave so Ezgjan Alioski started. Purchased for £2.5m from Swiss side Lugano, he also plays as a right-sided winger for North Macedonia. Despite being just 5’7”, he is a fan favourite for his tenuous relationship with reality. #lufc

Filling in at left-sided centre-half in lieu of our Captain & Scotland international Liam Cooper, right-footed fullback Luke Ayling took the armband. He was signed for £200k from Bristol City, where he was third choice right-back. Affectionately known as Bill. Uncapped. #lufc

At right-sided centre-half, 24 year old Robin Koch. This was the German’s 6th start in English football, during which time he has already had three different partners in central defence. Signed for just £13m this summer from mid-table Bundesliga side SC Freiburg. #lufc

At right-back, Stuart Dallas. Typically used to playing somewhere between left-back & central midfield for Bielsa at Leeds, he can also be found playing on the wing for Northern Ireland. Signed from resolutely Championship side Brentford for £1.5m. #lufc

Leeds were also missing England International & homegrown midfield mainstay Kalvin Phillips, whom opponents Villa tried to sign for £30m. In his place, 21 year old Belgium born Dutch centre-half Pascal Struijk made his 4th senior start ever. Signed on a free from Ajax. #lufc

Replacing the booked Pascal Struijk after just 21 minutes, 21 year old Academy graduate Jamie Shackleton was introduced by Bielsa to make his first ever appearance in the Premiership. Sometimes plays at right-back but played in central midfield last night. Uncapped. #lufc

Starting in his usual central midfield role but switching to play as a defensive midfielder for the first time was Polish international Mateusz Klich, signed from Dutch side FC Twente for just £1.5m. Klich made just 4 appearances for Leeds Utd before Bielsa arrived. #lufc

On the left wing, 23 year old loanee Jack Harrison. Aside from a handful of appearances for Championship stalwarts Middlesbrough, the winger played for NCAA Division 1 side Wake Forest Demon Deacons & MLS side New York City. Uncapped. #lufc

Making just his 2nd League start for Leeds in a position that isn’t quite the No 10 role, Rodrigo Moreno. Typically deployed as a centre-forward for the Spanish national side, you might also remember Rodrigo for his single goal for then EPL side Bolton back in 2010. Or not. #lufc

On the right-wing, Hélder Costa made his sixth EPL start for Leeds. Signed for £16m this summer after a season long loan from Wolves, he made his sole appearance for the Portuguese national side back in 2018. #lufc

Last but not least, Patrick Bamford scored all 3 goals playing as the lone centre-forward. Signed for £7m from Championship strugglers Middlesborough, the striker has now scored 6 goals in 6 appearances for Leeds this season. Uncapped & eligible for England & Ireland. #lufc

Also appearing off the bench late on were 35 year old Pablo Hernandez, signed on a free transfer from Qatari side Al-Arabi & working his way back from injury, & Brazilian winger Raphinha, recently signed from French also-rans Rennes, making his second appearance in the EPL. #lufc

Aside from missing our Captain & first choice centre-half Liam Cooper, as well as the talismanic Kalvin Phillips, long term absentees include experienced midfielder Adam Forshaw (highly rated by Bielsa) & cult hero Gaetano Berardi, sometime first choice reserve centre half. #lufc

Misc: 5 of our starting XI started the match out of position & we’d faced a tough match against Wolves four days previously. Of the starting lineup, only 3 players (Rodrigo, Bamford & Costa) had ever featured in the EPL prior to this season, playing collectively 69 games. #lufc

None of the above is news to Leeds fans but there’s been some amusing criticism of Marcelo Bielsa from certain quarters of late & I just wanted to demonstrate what he’s working with. Not to denigrate any of these unbelievably hard-working players but come the fuck on. #lufc

If you actually are a non-Leeds fan & have read to to the end of this but haven’t seen how a Bielsa team plays, you can see a fairly good example for our third goal. #lufc https://twitter.com/b_tokvam/status/1319913567894863872