Kalvin Phillips vs Eunan O’Kane: Stats highlight which Leeds ace made greatest impact in Birmingham win

Follow us on Google Discover

Leeds United took a significant step towards securing a spot in the Championship play-off places with an impressive 3-1 victory over Birmingham.

Leeds’ Chris Wood celebrates scoring their second goal with Kalvin Phillips

Leeds secured another valuable three points in their quest to secure a top six spot in the Championship as they beat Birmingham City 3-1 at St Andrew’s, but the performance from the Whites perhaps suggests that the scoreline flattered Garry Monk’s men somewhat.

It was a moment around the hour-mark that arguably played a key role in helping the away side get themselves across the line, and that was the decision to replace Eunan O’Kane with Kalvin Phillips.

O’Kane did little wrong in the time that he was on the pitch, but he also struggled to get really involved in the game and it seemed that Birmingham were really starting to take control of the midfield battle as the second-half wore on.

That prompted the call to bring Phillips on, and it is fair to say that the academy graduate showed no signs of the rust that you would perhaps expect from a player who had played just once since the end of January, and his introduction arguably proved a pivotal moment in a game that was there for the taking.

As the statistics suggest, O’Kane registered a better pass completion rate than Phillips, but it could be argued that the latter was on the pitch at a time when the Blues needed to retrieve the ball more urgently and thus, it would be a surprise if he actually bettered O’Kane’s accuracy.

Unfortunately for the former Bournemouth man, Phillips trumped him in practically every other area despite featuring for nearly half the number of minutes that O’Kane was on the pitch for.

He made one more interception and clearance, and won two more duels than O’Kane. But it was arguably his tackling stats that deserve the most credit against a very combative Birmingham side.

Phillips attempted four challenges, winning three, while O’Kane won the only challenge he made during the contest.

And, of course, it must not be forgotten that Phillips was the man to set up Chris Wood’s and Leeds’ second to put them back in front after Birmingham had looked to be on the verge of taking full control of the momentum.

So while Phillips may have previously been down as fourth choice in the pecking order for the holding midfield role, it could certainly be argued that he moved himself up that order with his display against Birmingham, perhaps now even ahead of O’Kane.