Kalvin Phillips says Leeds team-mate was ‘buzzing’ after Palace display

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Kalvin Phillips admits he is enjoying a new system under Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch, speaking to LUTV after Monday night’s 0-0 Premier League draw at Crystal Palace. 

Marsch, like his bespectacled, bucket-perching predecessor, is clearly not afraid of taking bold decisions.

Leeds’ American head coach channelled his inner-Bielsa at the interval in South London, hauling off Mateusz Klich, introducing Robin Koch and switching from a 4-3-3 to something more akin to a 4-2-3-1. 

Phillips, Leeds’ England international playmaker, got used to patrolling the centre of the park all on his own under Bielsa, a roving number six tasked with not only controlling the game but also stopping opposition attacks at source.

But the so-called ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ is not averse to sharing his duties as part of a deep-lying double-pivot either.

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“I’m trying to get to grips with the new formation and how we’re playing. It’s very different,” explains Phillips, who completed 90 minutes for the first time since November at Crystal Palace.

“I like both ways. I don’t mind playing as a single and I don’t mind playing as a double. You’ve got a lot of help with me and Klichy and Robin working together.

“The new formation is good and hopefully we can keep performances up and keep doing what we’re doing.”

Leeds were far from their free-flowing best on Monday, struggling to carve out clear cut chances as attack after attack broke down quicker than a dusty old Vauxhall Nova. But if you’re not going to score at on end, just make sure you don’t concede at the other. 

And, thanks to some dogged, disciplined defending and an inspired second-half performance from Illan Meslier, Leeds secured a second straight clean sheet for the first time in 2022. 

“I’m happy with the point but not very happy with the performance,” Phillips adds. “We wanted to come here and win but, first and foremost, we wanted to not concede. We’re playing against a good team with some exceptional players. I thought we did well. The point is all that matters now.

“Illan, the big man, is buzzing that he’s kept a clean sheet. He made a big double save (from Wilfried Zaha) at the end.”