Marcelo Bielsa has admitted that he withdrew Rodrigo due to tactical reasons during Leeds United’s win over Fulham this afternoon.
The Leeds boss raised some eyebrows when he decided to take the Spanish attacker off at half-time, swapping him for Tyler Roberts.
Bielsa’s side were winning 2-1 at the time and with Rodrigo being the club’s most expensive signing of all time, it was a surprising move by the Argentine.
The 29-year-old drifted in and out of the game during his 45 minutes on the field today.
And Bielsa has told Leeds Live after the game that it was a voluntary substitution, as opposed to him being injured.
He said: “Rodrigo was a tactical change. I was under the impression that he lacked a bit of energy to show his qualities.
“He did a very good game against Hull from a physical standpoint. I thought that he could replicate that physical performance then he could have created a lot of danger against Fulham.”
It must be noted that the Spain international played 90 minutes in United’s League Cup defeat by Hull City in midweek.
And given that he wasn’t with Leeds for much of their pre-season, he simply might not be up to speed just yet.
Bielsa is a coach who has ruthless physical demands from his players and if he thought that Rodrigo was struggling in terms of conditioning then that might explain the half-time sub.
Rodrigo aside, Leeds held off a late fightback by the Cottagers to seal a 4-3 win during their first Premier League game at Elland Road since 2004.
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