Leeds are crashing without Kalvin Phillips - Mail Online 18/10/21
Leeds are crashing without Kalvin Phillips as they lost the midfield battle and game at Southampton... it is clear the circuit in Marcelo Bielsa's complicated system breaks without the England star at its base
Kalvin Phillips is appreciated almost as much in his absence
as his presence
Without him, Leeds provided a vivid portrait of a lost cause
at Southampton
Marcelo Bielsa's side are fast losing the sheen that they
acquired last season
Through the whole game, they managed three shots, and not
one on target
By RIATH AL-SAMARRAI
It would seem Kalvin Phillips has reached that height in the
ascent when his talent is appreciated almost as much in its absence as its
presence. For England on Tuesday, read Leeds on Saturday.
Without him, the latter certainly provided a vivid portrait
of a lost cause on their trip to Southampton.
They lost the battle for the midfield, they lost the game,
and with it the wider pattern of results would also suggest Marcelo Bielsa's
side are fast losing the sheen they acquired last season.
At times on the south coast, particularly before Armando
Broja's winner, it was reasonable to wonder where the performance ranked among
the worst of Bielsa's excellent reign.
It would be nonsensical to leave Phillips out of the grander
debate around Leeds' struggles — he had played every minute of every game bar
one until the weekend, so he has his fingerprints on this mess.
But what was clear at Southampton is the circuit of Bielsa's
complicated system breaks when Phillips is not at the base of the midfield,
central to how Leeds play in both directions of travel.
Through the entirety of the game, they managed three shots,
and not a single one on goal, with 19 chances conceded against a side
previously without a league win this season.
The absences of Raphinha and Patrick Bamford stung; the loss
of Phillips to a calf injury crippled them, so the hope must be that Bielsa was
right in playing down its damage, even if he did ominously reveal that the
problem had caused new complications in his hip.
Any prolonged lay-off would surely increase the severity of
Leeds' relegation battle.
Meanwhile, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl was able to
reflect on a first win of the season, and one that owed much to Nathan Redmond
having one of his better days.
Hasenhuttl said: 'We have to give him the trust and then he
has to pay it back. Today he did it, he paid it back.
'I am always very critical with him. I know how good he can
be. I am not always happy with what I see from him. I always want more from him
because he is good.'
