Leander Dendoncker
Leander Dendoncker has offered a fascinating insight into how Wolverhampton Wanderers outwitted Leeds United tactically on Monday. Wolves defended deep in the first half as Marcelo Bielsa’s men laid siege on their goal before opening up on the counter-attack in the second period. And they were rewarded with three points with Raul Jimenez’s deflected strike the difference between the two teams at Elland Road. And Dendoncker, whose solidity in midfield was key to Wolves neutralising Leeds’ threat, has explained how they approached a unique opponent.
Leander Dendoncker said “We knew that it was going to be a very tough game and we felt that, especially in the first 20 or 30 minutes we suffered a lot. That’s just the way they play. They go man against man and I don’t think any team is used to that. They (Manchester City) played them before the international break and Kevin De Bruyne told me that it will be very hard because they go man to man but he also said that after 30 minutes they leave spaces. I think that’s what you could see. I know the first half wasn’t really good from our side because we were looking how to find the spaces, how to deal with them. In the second half we managed it way better. To get three points here is really difficult and I don’t think a lot of teams will do it.”
Dendoncker was also given a helping hand by international teammate Kevin De Bruyne after the Manchester City man shared information about Leeds while on Belgium duty last week. De Bruyne played for City in their 1-1 draw with Leeds before the international break in a game which became chaotic and end-to-end in the second half.
