‘We didn’t realise’ – Phillips makes surprise admission about Chelsea players v Leeds
Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips has admitted that he was surprised at how good Chelsea’s players were as his side lost 3-1 to the Blues at Stamford Bridge.
Patrick Bamford opened the scoring during Saturday’s loss but Chelsea goals from Olivier Giroud, Kurt Zouma and Christian Pulisic meant all three points stayed in the capital.
Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, Phillips said that Leeds ‘didn’t realise’ how good some Chelsea players were and credited N’Golo Kante’s excellent performance.
He said, “I think Kante was unbelievable during that game, he was everywhere and didn’t look like he broke a sweat. Any second ball that dropped he was there, any 50/50 he was there, he was at the right place at the right time.
“It’s very hard for a team like Chelsea to lose with the individuals that they’ve got. Christian Pulisic came on and got the last goal it’s just the calibre of players that they’ve got.
“We didn’t realise how good individually some players were. Mason Mount was unbelievable. I’ve said that from day one ever since I’ve trained with him and played against him at Derby.”
It is slightly bizarre for Phillips to admit that Leeds underestimated the quality of Chelsea’s players considering the start to the season that Frank Lampard’s team has enjoyed.
The Blues have only lost one game in the league and are well in the title race after keeping pace with last season’s champions Liverpool.
Though, it is a credit to Chelsea that even though Phillips and his teammates were expecting a tough game at the Bridge, the Blues performed above the high expectations that the Leeds players had.
Experiences like the loss at Stamford Bridge will occur again this season as Leeds adjust to life in the Premier League and lessons learned from last weekend’s loss should leave the squad in good stead for the next time they face a top side.
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