Keith Hackett: Leeds didn’t use ‘dark arts’ v Manchester United
We’re delighted to welcome former Premier League referee Keith Hackett to the MOT Leeds News team. Each week, Hackett will discuss the big moments from the latest Leeds United games and deliver his verdict on whether his successors got their calls right or wrong…
Keith Hackett has heaped praise on Leeds United despite their heavy 5-1 defeat against Manchester United on Saturday.
The ex-Premier League referee insisted that it would have been easy to refer to the “dark arts” but they played fair and contributed in a positive manner.
Officials have been told to let games flow more this season, and we saw plenty of that at Old Trafford over the weekend despite numerous collisions.
Speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News, Hackett said, “They’re going to be exposed at times and they’re either going to win big or lose big.
“On this one, they lost and what I really liked was they didn’t get to the tactics of the old Leeds United of stopping and fouling.
“The dark arts, they openly and honestly took about their tasks in the game and just got on with it, and their contribution was positive.”
Dark arts?
There was one moment that was questioned heavily, and that was Raphinha’s challenge on Luke Shaw in the second half.
After a quick booking, the players made up and thankfully the defender didn’t make much of the late attempt to win the ball.
Sam Matterface blasted the Brazilian as “petulant” but he appeared to be the only one who had a massive problem with the challenge.
The dark arts went out of the window years ago, it’s all about the rock-and-roll relentless style of Marcelo Bielsa.
In other Leeds United news, ‘New Raphinha’, ‘Better than Costa’ – Whites Super Fans thrilled by what U23s star did on Monday