Marcelo Bielsa admits Tyler Roberts surprised him with how the Leeds United striker kept running throughout their win over Crystal Palace on Tuesday, via quotes by Leeds Live.
The Whites edged the Eagles 1-0 at Elland Road through a late stoppage-time penalty from Raphinha. Referee Kevin Friend pointed to the spot in the 91st-minute after deeming Marc Guehi to have handled the ball after a review by Video Assistant Referee Simon Hooper.
Roberts started the match as Leeds’ designated striker for the first time this season in the Premier League. His only prior start this term came in midfield at Southampton in October.
Bielsa has seldom trusted Roberts to lead the Leeds attack during Patrick Bamford’s injury-enforced absence. Instead, he has often picked Rodrigo, who fell to the bench on Tuesday.
Roberts delivered a hard-fought display against Crystal Palace, after digging deep following a tough spell. The 22-year-old showed flashes of skill and rarely gave the Eagles’ defence a moment’s rest, but remains without a league goal this term after spurning his best chances.
Yet the Wales striker impressed his manager with his endeavour to make an impact. Bielsa praised Roberts after beating Crystal Palace and admitted the Leeds ace had surprised him.
“[His role was] very important. He did not stop fighting, ever,” Bielsa said. “He kept our team alive and present. I did not imagine he could run as much as he did in 90-minutes.”
Should Roberts retain Leeds’ striker role after Palace showing?
Roberts has been a mainstay of Bielsa’s plans so far this season, even though he has still only started two of Leeds’ 14 Premier League fixtures. Instead, making 12 outings from the bench for a total of 435-minutes – two-minutes fewer than Bamford in nine more games.
The 19-cap international will hope he showed enough against Crystal Palace to now earn a third start on Sunday. The Whites welcome Brentford to Elland Road, seeking to win back-to-back top-flight matches for the first time this term.
But Bielsa will want to see Roberts fine-tune his shooting in training to warrant him leading Leeds’ attack against Brentford.
The £22k-a-week forward’s efforts against the Eagles often lacked the same potential he threatened against Brighton on Saturday. And it was his bite from the bench on the south coast that convinced Bielsa to back Roberts on Tuesday.
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