S
SEARCH
M
SW
Wednesday, March 31
Feb 23, 2021 at 6pm UK
LeedsLeeds United
3-0
SouthamptonSouthampton
Bamford (47'), Dallas (78'), Raphinha (84')
Raphinha (85')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Vestergaard (26'), Djenepo (83')

Marcelo Bielsa hails "spontaneous" Raphinha after Southampton win

:Headline: Marcelo Bielsa hails 'spontaneous' Raphinha after Southampton win: ID:436494: from db_amp
The Brazilian starred in the Whites' 3-0 win over Southampton.

Marcelo Bielsa said there was little he could teach Raphinha, who turned in another eye-catching display in Leeds' 3-0 home win against Southampton.

Patrick Bamford's 13th Premier League goal of the season and Stuart Dallas put Leeds in control before Raphinha curled home a sublime free-kick in the closing stages.

The Brazilian winger laid on a host of chances for his team-mates as Leeds climbed back into the top half of the table.

"I sincerely think that I can add very little to his game," Bielsa said. "The best thing you can do with players who are so spontaneous is to let them be themselves."

The 24-year-old is widely regarded as one of the steals of the season after signing from Rennes in October for £17million plus add-ons.

He showed why against Southampton by combining his ability to glide by opposing defenders and provide accurate crosses with an insatiable work-rate.

"He's a player who unbalances (the opposition) by himself, he's very ambitious, very competitive," Bielsa said after his side secured their 200th Premier League win.

Raphinha curls home a free-kick (Gareth Copley/PA)

"It's a mixture that's not very common because he works a lot and on top of that he's creative and can unbalance."

Bielsa also praised another summer signing, Spanish defender Diego Llorente, who made his home debut after a series of injuries had restricted him to just two appearances.

"Evidently Llorente is a player with hierarchy," Bielsa said. "And in a game like today when the opponent used different strikers, the majority of them with quality, his contribution was very necessary."

Dallas celebrated his all-important second goal by holding up a t-shirt in tribute to injured team-mate Kalvin Phillips' grandmother, Val Crosby, who died last week.

'Granny Val' had endeared herself to the Leeds squad, Bielsa and his staff during their promotion-winning campaign and also appeared in the Amazon documentary Take Us Home.

"For us Phillips is a player we love a lot," Bielsa added. "He's an emblem of Leeds United.

"After we got promoted the figure of Kalvin's grandmother became known to the public and we started to all care about her.

"She was a very charismatic and very attractive person to those who knew her, we regret deeply that she's no longer with us and of course the loss for Kalvin and for all his family."

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl looking animated on the touchline during the game (Laurence Griffiths/PA)

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, whose side's winless league run was extended to eight matches, felt Bamford's 47th-minute opener proved decisive.

He also rued an effort from Che Adams, which was ruled out just before half-time after referee Andre Marriner claimed he had not blown for a free-kick to be taken.

"You can say these were decisive, but we had still enough time to turn things around," Hasenhuttl said. "But after the first goal we had the first chance on the other side we had not the right game plan any more.

"We left what we had in the first half, they had no chances, we were dominating. (Then) we gave it away in a way that was much too easy."

Hasenhuttl added: "We were the worst team in the second half of the season, we don't play like a winning team at the moment."

amp_article__436494 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2021-02-23 22:02:13:
html db last update - 2021-03-10 14:58:22 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Marcelo Bielsa

Click here for more stories about Leeds United

Read more!
Share this article now:
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City30225364214371
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd29169456322457
3Leicester CityLeicester29175753322156
4Chelsea29149644251951
5West Ham UnitedWest Ham29147845351049
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs29146949301948
7Liverpool29137948361246
8Everton28144104037346
9Arsenal29126114032842
10Aston Villa28125113930941
11Leeds UnitedLeeds29123144547-239
12Crystal Palace29107123147-1637
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2998122838-1035
14Southampton2996143651-1533
15Burnley2989122237-1533
16Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton29711113236-432
17Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2977152848-2028
18Fulham30511142338-1526
19West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom2939172057-3718
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2942231650-3414
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City30225364214371
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd29169456322457
3Leicester CityLeicester29175753322156
4Chelsea29149644251951
5West Ham UnitedWest Ham29147845351049
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs29146949301948
7Liverpool29137948361246
8Everton28144104037346
9Arsenal29126114032842
10Aston Villa28125113930941
11Leeds UnitedLeeds29123144547-239
12Crystal Palace29107123147-1637
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2998122838-1035
14Southampton2996143651-1533
15Burnley2989122237-1533
16Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton29711113236-432
17Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2977152848-2028
18Fulham30511142338-1526
19West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom2939172057-3718
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2942231650-3414
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.