This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.
Leeds United left Deepdale on Tuesday evening with a point, but if it wasn’t for Marcelo Bielsa’s substitutions the Whites may have walked away with nothing against the playoff contenders.
Of course, the big talking point was Eddie Nketiah’s impact off the bench, but there was another player that was brought into proceedings late on that immediately impressed.
Snapshot
Leeds were incredibly flat on Tuesday evening, and that was partly down to the lack of attacking threat coming from the midfield.
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It was an uncharacteristically quiet night for Mateusz Klich as he only got two shots away, neither of which were on target.
With the Whites 1-0 down in the 76th minute, something had to change, so Bielsa looked towards his subs bench.
Off the bench
The manager may have left it late to make his changes, but they made exactly the type of impact he will have wanted.
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Obviously, Nketiah scored, but it was Tyler Roberts’ performance after coming on that should have made an equally big statement to Bielsa.
The Welshman was a constant thorn in the Preston defence’s side as he continuously got into good positions, getting two shots off in his 15-minute cameo – the third most of any Leeds player that evening.
On another day the 21-year-old could have won the game for Leeds as a huge penalty appeal went up in the last minute as he once again found himself inside the box, but it wasn’t to be.
Roberts immediately sparked a new life into the game, and the £3.6m-rated man’s positivity in his 15-minute cameo makes a great case for him starting for the Whites in the near future.
