Bielsa makes surprise claim about Kalvin Phillips ahead of Leeds clash v Reading
Marcelo Bielsa has claimed that Kalvin Phillips was not up to his usual standards against Brentford last week on his return from suspension.
The 24-year-old missed three matches after being sent off against QPR in January and Bielsa feels the time on the sideline affected his performance.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Thursday ahead of the game against Reading (live in the LUFC app, 12.30pm), Bielsa said that the time out of the side saw his agility and speed levels decrease.
“Worse effect,” the Argentine said when asked if the rest had had had a positive impact on Phillips after a seemingly bright return to the side.
“He was three matches out and he played a match with the under-23s. Technically he was very good, the attitude was excellent but he had problems in coordination, speed and agility in the match against Brentford.
“He had a lack of agility to adapt in defence to the movement of the opponent. He lost a footballing level as is natural, you cannot recover some things just from playing. Even after this description, he had a positive impact against Brentford because he knows how to cover players in defence.”
Despite his claims, Bielsa said Phillips reached his usual level in Saturday’s win over Bristol City at Elland Road.
“He recovered his real level in the last match, when he has defended players that are attacker or playmakers and there he had more impact in defence,” he said.
“Normally Phillips can have double or triple the intensity of the centre backs, but he didn’t do this against Brentford. But in the last match he came back to his normal values. After the suspension he played worse, but then he returned to his normal level after playing again.”
Phillips made two tackles and two interceptions in both matches, according to WhoScored data, but made one additional clearance in the match against Bristol City.
His passing accuracy was similar in both matches, but notably, he made three key passes against the Robins, compared to just one against Brentford.
Bielsa’s claim is a surprise as the eye test was good for Phillips against Brentford. WhoScored gave him a higher match rating in that game than in recent games against QPR, West Brom, Preston and Fulham.
Phillips was only out for two weeks and kept up his fitness by playing for the Under-23s and some Leeds fans thought the rest had actually done him good.
Andy P from the long-running fanzine The Square Ball actually said fans might look back at the red card he got against QPR and “think it was worth it”.
However, Bielsa sees different things and has long been known for his exacting standards when it comes to fitness.
He will leave out established names if they do not meet his requirements.
January signing Jean-Kévin Augustin is a notable example, with the former Paris Saint-Germain forward lacking match fitness following his arrival from Monaco, where he made just 10 appearances during the first half of this season.
He has declared himself fit but he is obviously not ‘Bielsa-fit’ yet.
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