How Brenden Aaronson’s smart movement and quick decision-making speed up Leeds - The Athletic 22/8/22

By Ahmed Walid

When it comes to high-intensity sport, every second counts. In Formula One, a driver doesn’t only depend on the speed of his vehicle and his fitness to withstand a complete race. He also has to have the reflexes and know-how to make quick decisions while sitting in a car that may reach speeds of more than 200 miles per hour.

In the Premier League, the closest we can get to Formula One is Leeds United. Jesse Marsch’s arrival after the departure of Marcelo Bielsa maintained the focus on intensity on and off the ball, despite the differences in ideas. Following Marsch was an American arrival in the summer, who encapsulates Leeds’ style of play perfectly. Brenden Aaronson’s intensity off the ball and his directness on it make him a great fit.

“He’s tireless. He’s relentless,” were Marsch’s words when asked about Aaronson’s performance against Chelsea.

Leeds’ opener was the best example of how Aaronson is ideal for Marsch’s ideas. After losing the ball in midfield, Aaronson harried behind it and eventually dispossessed Edouard Mendy to score his first Premier League goal.

Edouard Mendy's horrendous error gave Leeds United the lead against Chelsea.

The #CFC's goalkeeper's pocket was picked by #LUFC's pressing machine Brenden Aaronson, who had the simplest of finishes ⚽️

Rodrigo has since put Leeds 2-0 up!

📽 @SkySportsPLpic.twitter.com/MTAdEANfsc

— The Athletic UK (@TheAthleticUK) August 21, 2022

However, there’s another aspect of Aaronson’s performance that was as good as his pressing — his ability to quickly make correct decisions when Leeds were in possession of the ball.

Leeds’ speed and directness once they retrieve possession are key for Marsch’s side. With those principles, quick decision-making is valuable. Here, Aaronson is in the centre of the pitch as Leeds retrieve possession and are looking to start a quick transition with Tyler Adams playing a pass to Rodrigo…

…once Rodrigo receives the ball, Aaronson spots that there’s space in Chelsea’s defence because Kalidou Koulibaly is moving up to face the Spaniard. Aaronson quickly attacks this area, knowing Jack Harrison and Dan James are attacking different spaces across the front line. Then, as Rodrigo dribbles past Koulibaly…

…Aaronson calls for the pass that will put Leeds in a favourable three-v-two situation considering the pace of their forwards. Rodrigo, however, dribbles inside and loses possession.

In another example after Harrison picks up a loose ball in midfield, James instantly makes a run behind the Chelsea defence, dragging Koulibaly with him. Meanwhile, Aaronson controls the ball…

…already knowing which space he’s going to dribble into. The one James and Koulibaly are vacating. He then tries to find James’ run with a pass, but it is too close to Thiago Silva, who intercepts it.

The impressive thing here is that Aaronson doesn’t need more time to scan his surroundings — he sees James’ run as he’s receiving the ball and quickly dribbles into the correct space. Then he doesn’t waste a moment by raising his head to confirm James’ position. He already has an idea of where the Welshman will be.

Aaronson’s alertness and quick thinking make him the perfect threat on the transitions when you take into consideration his physical attributes. In this example, Pascal Struijk starts the Leeds transition by playing the ball into Rodrigo…

…and as the Leeds forward controls the ball, Aaronson notices Koulibaly is out of position and there’s a huge gap in Chelsea’s defence. So he directly sprints there.

Rodrigo’s poor touch means he has to play it wide to Leeds’ right-back, Rasmus Kristensen. While that is happening, Aaronson is continuing his run into the space…

…and just before the ball reaches Kristensen, Aaronson checks over his shoulder to see that Silva is trying to play him offside. So, he moves inside (white arrow) and bends his run instead of continuing on his original path (red arrow)…

…which puts him back onside and in an excellent position to be put through on goal — but Kristensen’s pass is played behind Aaronson instead of being into the space in front of him.

Aaronson’s goal came from a one-man press, but his off-the-ball movement and decision-making helped Leeds score their third and final on the day.

In the build-up to the goal, Aaronson takes the correct decision of moving inside (white arrow), instead of running into the space (red arrow). This way, he keeps Koulibaly further away from the ball as Rodrigo plays the pass out wide to James…

…then, instead of rushing into the box from this position…

…Aaronson slows down, distancing himself from Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella to avoid any physical altercation and have a clean header when James puts the cross in.

It’s hard to tell whether Aaronson misses the header or Koulibaly’s presence affects him. Either way, Rodrigo was behind them and set up Harrison to score the third.

When broken down, Aaronson’s decision-making might seem trivial, but none of these Leeds attacks took more than 10 seconds. In a high-octane side such as Leeds, the speed of making the correct decision matters as much as the execution of the decision itself. Each second matters.

When you are playing at a speed of 200 miles per hour, quick thinking might be the difference between a win and a loss.