'Couldn't deal with him' – Redknapp claims Pep hauled player off after Leeds star owned him

Dave is a huge Leeds fan and ardent disciple of Bielsa ball. A career in print magazines that included editing PC Zone, launching PokerPlayer and redesigning The Big Issue has finally led Dave to writing about the love of his life, Leeds United. It’s been a tough 2020 but the single scariest moment was the first quarter of the game against Man City. Rodrigo will be the saviour this season.

Published on:

05 Oct 2020, 2:00 am

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp has heaped praise on young Leeds United winger Ian Poveda after a brilliant second-half display against Man City.

Poveda came on at half-time against his former club and helped inspire a comeback against the Premier League giants.

Leeds ended up drawing 1-1 but could easily have won the game at Elland Road.

Redknapp said that City defender Ben Mendy "couldn't deal with" Poveda and Pep eventually hauled his man off after 71 minutes.

Talking after the live coverage of the game on Sky Sports (Saturday, 7.30pm), Redknapp said, "Man City fans might be disappointed at dropping two points but that would be doing Leeds a disservice.

"They were excellent in the second half. Bielsa made a couple of good substitutions, bringing on Rodrigo and Poveda, who was really good when he came on.

"He gave Mendy so many problems he couldn’t deal with him, he [Pep] had to make a tactical change and take him off in the end and bring on Ake.

"This was a high-level game played at a really high pace."

Poveda point to prove

Leeds United fans, and neutrals from every club, were left absolutely thrilled after a competitive and highly entertaining game on Saturday.

After the narrow 4-3 defeat to Liverpool, it's proved that Leeds absolutely can live at the top level in the Premier League.

For Poveda, this would have been a real personal success after Man City let him move to Leeds in January.

He'd been on the fringes of the City first team but was then demoted back to the Under-23s and he asked for a move.

There was a fantastic shot after the game, showing Pep Guardiola as the class act he is, warmly shaking hands with Poveda with a huge smile on his face.

This is how the game was played, between two managers who have a huge amount of respect for each other.

It was the perfect advert for the Premier League in a weekend that saw some crazy results, not least Liverpool losing 7-2 to Aston Villa.

It's made some Leeds fans think that the Premier League is wide open and ready for a shock.

In other Leeds United news, ESPN: Star mid being pushed from cash-stricken club against manager wishes, Leeds set to pounce

Leeds United

Jamie Redknapp