Kalvin Phillips fires back at suggestions of a rift with Marcelo Bielsa - YEP 30/11/21
Kalvin Phillips has fired back at suggestions he has fallen out with Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa.
By Joe Urquhart
The England international addressed claims there had been
unrest behind the scenes at Thorp Arch between himself and the Whites boss on
Tuesday night.
Bielsa's men earned a dramatic 1-0 victory over Crystal
Palace in the Premier League in LS11.
United were awarded an injury-time penalty following VAR
intervention as Liam Cooper headed a corner onto a raised Marc Guehi arm.
Star man Raphinha calmly converted to hand Leeds a third
victory of the season and sent the home crowd wild.
Phillips - who completed 90 minutes against the Eagles -
opted to take the moment post-match to address any claims that he had fallen
out with his head coach.
Pundit Jamie Redknapp suggested the Three Lions man wouldn't
have been happy at being substituted at half-time against Brighton last weekend
while a week earlier Robbie Keane questioned his post-match interview at
Tottenham.
"I will play any position the manager asks me - if he
wants me to play centre back I will play centre back, if he wants me to play
goalkeeper I'll play goalkeeper. I respect him so much I will never fall out
with him," Phillips said at the full-time whistle.
"I saw a lot of things on social media and TV that me
and the manager had fallen out, it's never been the case and I wanted to put
that to bed."
🗣 "There's been a lot of talk about me and the manager falling out... I respect him so much, I'd never fall out with him!"
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) November 30, 2021
Kalvin Phillips puts the record straight on rumours regarding his relationship with boss Marcelo Bielsa 👊#PLonPrime #LEECRY pic.twitter.com/G1t9dk2NbX
Asked about the victory and what a boost it would provide
Leeds, he added: "It's a massive relief, I think we deserved the win,
created some good chances in the first half.
“We got a little bit lucky in the final minutes with the
handball. We're just very happy. There is always concern when you are creating
chances and not scoring. We started struggling this season, so we are happy to
get the three points.
"Rafa is a very good player and oozes with class, so I
didn't expect anything else [than him to convert from the spot]. It is a
massive win for us, we are very happy and have to try and go on a run of games
now - we have a tough run of games before Christmas."