Andy Hinchcliffe has outlined his lack of surprise that Luke Ayling is currently in the middle of a goalscoring run for Leeds United, explaining that it’s a symptom of Marcelo Bielsa’s tactical structure.

Since being appointed as Leeds United boss, Marcelo Bielsa has managed to transform them into one of the most attractive attacking brands in the Championship as they push for automatic promotion once again in his second season in charge.

One of the major aspects of his complex tactical structure is how the full-backs almost become secondary wingers to provide support to the attack, with Luke Ayling and Stuart Dallas receiving a lot of plaudits for their all-round performances in both penalty areas this season.

The former Bristol City right-back, in particular, has been in marvellous form of late, scoring three in his last five games for the Whites, including a stunning volley from mid-air against local rivals Huddersfield Town last time out.

A run out wide from Jack Harrison after just two minutes on Saturday saw Luke Ayling maraud forward from right-back and call for the cross 10 yards before he was even in the penalty area, to then see the winger cross and find his run perfectly, where Ayling made no mistake with a thunderous strike off the crossbar.

To many, it might come as a surprise to see Ayling on the end of such a stunning goal, but not Bielsa, who stayed motionless on his ‘bucket’, as if to suggest he’d seen it a hundred times before.

There can’t be many surprises for him to see goals like this, after all, as it was perfectly choreographed in training just days prior to the game:

Speaking on the Sky Sports EFL podcast, Andy Hinchcliffe explained why he thinks that Ayling’s form isn’t a fluke, with he and Bielsa deserving all the credit they get for his recent run. He stated: “It is astonishing, but again, it really shows how high up the pitch the Leeds full-backs play.

“We know full-backs are such an important part of modern football, but if you look at the average position - I looked at the average position from that game in Dallas and Ayling, the two full-backs for Leeds.

“In the back four, they were on the halfway line or beyond that.

“That really stems from Bielsa and how he wants to play an attacking game and how he structures his team.

“He’s got Ben White or Kalvin Phillips as the holding midfielder to help the two centre-halves so that the full-backs can just step forward, the wide midfielders can drift infield and that’s why they’re scoring the goals.

“It still takes some scoring – that goal from Ayling was a brilliant one, but again, it’s because you’re encouraged to play so high up the pitch and you’re encouraged to take defenders on, to take shots on and to be positive.

“That’s what Bielsa’s game plan is all about.

“I think we’ve seen why it works so well with the goals that Ayling has scored recently.”

Can you name these former Leeds United defenders?

The verdict

Hinchcliffe is spot on to say that Ayling’s form is definitely not just down to pure luck at right-back, but down to being part of a very well-worked tactical system.

The same applies for Stuart Dallas on the left side as he is also having a lot of joy in the final third when he gets the chance to support Harrison.

However, it has to be said that Ayling’s goal is taking away from his marvellous defensive work at the weekend to keep Karlan Grant completely out of the game for 90 minutes.

Leeds have found a very good balance with these two at full-back and has been a key reason for why they are back on track, with the team’s shape looking much more settled at both ends of the pitch.