Bielsa delivers verdict on new Elland Rd pitch as Dominic Calvert-Lewin makes claim on BT Sport

The new Elland Road pitch got its first outing last night as Leeds United and Everton played out a thriller under the lights.

Players were seen to be struggling on the surface, with Leeds players slipping over and losing their feet on a number of occasions.

However, talking after the match Marcelo Bielsa delivered a positive verdict on the new surface.

As quoted by Leeds Live he said, "I only saw my team slip, I didn’t see the opponent slip.

"We are very happy to be able to count on a pitch that is much better than the last few games. It’s impossible to make a reference as to why we slipped."

Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin also claimed his side found it tough going too.

Talking to BT Sport after the game he said, "It was slippy. I think you have seen a lot of the lads slipping."

Good surface considering 

The pitch looked good but we noticed Jack Harrison, among others, struggle to keep their footing on it.

However, it's coped brilliantly with some really adverse conditions. There was heavy snowfall earlier in the week, along with some big rainfall afterwards.

Some Leeds fans criticised the surface but we think you've got to compare it to the pitch we played on when we lost to Brighton.

That was so bad that Leeds decided something had to be done and the new pitch, slips and all, was way better than that.

Leeds will get a second chance to get their studs right when they host Crystal Palace on Monday.

We've got a score to settle with them after a 4-1 robbery when we went to Selhurst Park.

That was never a 4-1 game and we expect Leeds to get something out of the Monday night game.

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