Leeds United defender Rasmus Kristensen has told BBC Sport that his Leeds teammates “made fun” of him after the Dane sprinted to the side of the pitch when being substituted, during the 0-0 draw against Aston Villa last Sunday.
Despite going down to 10 men after the red card of Luis Sinisterra just after half-time, Leeds held on for a point. Denmark international Kristensen, 25, lasted 68 minutes before being replaced by Luke Ayling – who is fit again.
With Leeds looking to hold out, Jesse Marsch – from the stands – decided to replace the summer signing. Such is the way of modern football, it would have been expected to see Kristensen walk slowly towards the dugout.
However, the Dane sprinted off the pitch from the other side of the ground. He says that following this, the Leeds players made fun of him but he explains that his mindset was that he felt Leeds could still win the match.
“Against Villa, the guys made fun of me because I sprinted off the pitch [when subbed off]. They said slow down, slow down. But I thought we were still going for three points so I wanted to get off as quick as possible,” Kristensen said.
Kristensen says Leeds teammates made fun of him after Villa draw
While slowly trudging off is the street-smart way of doing things, it is nice to hear that Kristensen still had that belief Leeds could win the match. Sprinting off, it shows the confidence, mentality Jesse Marsch has instilled in his players.
But as he says himself in the interview, Kristensen still has a lot to learn about the Premier League. No longer is he playing for a side such as Salzburg that are winning matches for fun domestically. He needs to read the game.
Leeds are next in action on Sunday, away at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace. The two sides played out a battling 0-0 draw in the same fixture last season – and Marsch will be hoping for a similar display, at least defensively.
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