Clinton Morrison labelled Kalvin Phillips as ‘outstanding’ as he marked his return to the first team by helping Leeds record a goalless draw away at Crystal Palace on Monday night.
It was Phillips’ first start for Leeds since his long injury lay-off and also his first under Jesse Marsch, as Palace legend Morrison thinks he was a big reason behind the team securing a clean sheet.
The relegation-threatened side, who are battling alongside Everton and Burnley, did have to ride their luck on occasions because Palace did create a number of strong opportunities during the game.
But the Yorkshire side kept their composure, especially in defence, as they earned another valuable point in their race to survive the drop.
After the game, Morrison was full of praise for Phillips and the help the 26-year-old provides to his teammates, as he told Premier League Productions (25/04/22 at 10:05 pm).
“He had to deal with a lot regarding Conor Gallagher because he is making those runs in-behind,” said Morrison.
“Then you add Eze into there, so there were a lot of attacking options (to deal with).
“But having Kalvin Phillips back for Leeds is only going to help them. I thought he was outstanding.
“That’s probably why they got a clean sheet because he was sitting in there and helping the back four.”
Leeds, Burnley and Everton are heading into the final few weeks of the season fearing the worst.
Even though Burnley sacked Sean Dyche, they have since picked up two wins and a draw following his departure.
That has resulted in them moving out of the bottom three, with Everton occupying the final relegation spot.
Although come the weekend, Everton host Chelsea on home soil and Burnley are away at Watford, with Manchester City travelling to Elland Road.
All in all, this could see Burnley and Everton possibly closing the gap on Marsch’s side at the weekend if they fail to get anything from the Man City game.
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