Marcelo Bielsa said he would study how Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid react to humiliating cup defeats as he attempts to lift Leeds following their shock FA Cup loss at fourth-tier Crawley Town.
Bielsa, whose side host struggling Brighton on Saturday, accepted it was natural to describe the 3-0 defeat in the third round as a humiliation but said he would try to learn from it.
The Argentine said he would observe how German Cup holders Bayern react to this week’s exit at the hands of second-tier Holstein Kiel and try to learn from Spanish league leaders Atletico Madrid’s response to their elimination from the Copa del Rey by third-division Cornella earlier this month.
“We try to look at why things happened that we didn’t want to happen,” Biela said on Thursday.
“Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid have just been dumped out of the cup, they suffered similar defeats to the one we suffered.
“I always look at the treatment these teams have towards their losses and I try to extract what I can to bring to my team.”
Bielsa’s side have been praised for their crowd-pleasing football this season on their return to the Premier League after 16 years away.
However, alongside eye-catching results such as a 5-0 humbling of West Brom they have suffered some painful defeats, notably a 6-2 drubbing by Manchester United.
“The terms used of ridiculed, humiliated, nightmare — we accept them and understand they can be viewed in this manner,” Bielsa said, referring to the Crawley defeat.
“Never do we look at a defeat in a destructive manner,” he added. “We always try to look at it so we can learn from it.”
