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‘Don’t know why he did it’: Phillips makes admission about Marcelo Bielsa decision after Leeds loss
Kalvin Phillips has shared the decision from Marcelo Bielsa that he did not really know the reason behind during Leeds United’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Leeds suffered an agonising defeat against Spurs. They were 1-0 up at the break after a superb Daniel James goal.
However, they conceded twice after the interval to leave North London empty-handed.
The result was more disappointing because Leeds were absolutely outstanding in the first-half. And Phillips was unquestionably one of the standout performers for the Whites.
He certainly got the better of his battle with Harry Kane, ensuring that the Tottenham talisman barely made any impact before the break.
Interestingly, it was Phillips who started at centre-back alongside Liam Cooper. That left Diego Llorente and Pascal Struijk playing in the full-back positions for the visitors.
It seemed to be an absolutely inspired move. And Leeds appeared to struggle once Phillips stopped marking Kane.
Intriguingly, the England international admitted that he is not sure what prompted Bielsa to make that decision as he was asked about the tactical ploy.
“To be honest, I don’t know why he did it,” . “Obviously, we wanted to be a little bit more defensive because we knew the attacking threat of both Harry and Son.
“So we had Diego onto Son, and me and Coops trying to man-mark whenever [Kane] was trying to float around on either side. I think it worked well in the first-half, even parts of the second-half.”
Adam Forshaw return allows for Bielsa to mix up how Leeds use Kalvin Phillips
It does appear that Leeds have become a lot stronger in the last two games. And many will point to the return of Adam Forshaw to the starting lineup.
The 30-year-old was outstanding against Leicester City before the international break. And he was another who was superb in the first-half.
His presence has seemingly opened the door for Bielsa to mix up how he uses Phillips. Leeds were still able to dominate in the middle of the pitch with Forshaw doing so well.
And it did appear that putting Phillips on Kane was a masterstroke – even if it was ultimately not Leeds’ day.