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The infamous burnout that Marcelo Bielsa’s sides suffer towards the back end of seasons has been written off as a myth by many, but it finally came home to roost at the worst possible time for Leeds United.

The Yorkshire club’s huge injury list headed into the playoff semi-finals may have been what cost them a place in the Premier League, and the Argentine’s intense style of play will not have helped towards that.

Bielsa burnout

The theory goes that Bielsa’s methods leave his players tired towards the end of the season, which leads to a number of injuries as well as fatigued performances.

This has been speculated by many pundits as well as players who have worked under the current Leeds boss.

Ander Herrera, who worked under the 63-year-old at Athletic Bilbao said (via inews):

“I can’t lie to you, in the last months we couldn’t even move. We had five games to play in the league and were in two cup finals, and I think we lost all of them.

“Our legs said ‘stop’. We used to play always with the same players and were not at our best in the finals. We were a completely different team than we had been before.”

Ruined their chances

Just looking at the Whites’ bench on Wednesday night tells you all you need to know. Aside from an unfit Pontus Jansson, there were no experienced players for Bielsa to choose from due to the number of injuries his side have sustained as of late.

Adam Forshaw, Tyler Roberts, Kemar Roofe, Ezgjan Alioski and Barry Douglas were all unavailable for this crucial tie, and whilst Jansson did make the bench he was clearly not fit enough to feature.

Tired legs certainly played a part at Elland Road for the second leg. Derby couldn’t keep up with Leeds during the first half, but they were quickly able to find gaps in the Whites’ defence after the break.

Though his football may be mesmerising to watch, it is almost impossible to sustain throughout a season. Even more so in the Championship over 46 games and then a playoff campaign.