Michael Owen shares verdict on mooted Marcelo Bielsa ‘bust-up’ at Leeds United
Michael Owen has poured cold water on suggestions that Marcelo Bielsa and Kalvin Phillips have had a “bust-up” at Leeds United.
There have been suggestions among pundits in the media that Phillips, 25, and the Leeds manager haven’t been seeing eye-to-eye recently.
Phillips’ interview after the 2-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur this month (21 November) raised eyebrows as he appeared mystified at why he was being deployed at centre-back.
However, speaking on Amazon Prime Video after the Whites beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on Tuesday night (30 November), courtesy of a late Raphinha penalty at Elland Road, England legend Owen dismissed the speculation.
“We also know he [Phillips] prefers playing centre midfield,” he said. “The smile on the face tells the whole story.
“I”m sure there wasn’t any bust-up. I’m sure Bielsa doesn’t even talk to his players about things like that, it’s just all about the team. When the team’s winning you get happy players and they don’t complain at all. But that’s some result for the club, that’s a massive result.”
All is well
Phillips was on post-match duties again last night, and he took the opportunity to clear up any confusion about his relationship with his manager.
He rubbished recent talk on Amazon Prime Video and stressed that he retains maximum respect for Bielsa.
That’s exactly what Leeds supporters want to hear and they will hope Tuesday’s victory over Palace can act as a springboard for the rest of the season.
Hopefully, they have seen the worst this season and can look ahead to a positive 2021/22 campaign.
With another home match against Brentford this weekend, the Whites have a great opportunity to record back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time this season.
That will see them shoot up the table and move closer to the top-10 where they finished last season [ninth].
In other Leeds United news, Owen was left gobsmacked by what he saw this Whites player do v Palace.