Marcelo Bielsa explains Kalvin Phillips substitution in Leeds defeat

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Kalvin Phillips was replaced during the first-half of Leeds United’s defeat on Saturday.

In comments reported by Leeds Live, Marcelo Bielsa has insisted that Kalvin Phillips did nothing wrong before being taken off during Leeds’ defeat to Birmingham on Saturday, suggesting that he himself made the mistake that prompted the first-half change.

The Whites saw their unbeaten start in the Championship brought to an end by their former manager, with all of the damage being done during the first-half as Che Adams bagged a brace at Elland Road.

The two early goals led to Bielsa replacing Phillips with Stuart Dallas as Leeds changed system to try and change the game around. It is always an ominous sign when a player is replaced well before the break, but Bielsa insisted that Phillips’ performance was not the reason for the change.

“The proposal I chose for this game at the beginning was not the right one. Phillips played in front of Jansson and Cooper. The goal was to make the link from defence to attack and we couldn’t reach this goal,” he said, as reported by Leeds Live when asked what went wrong.

“In the first 30 minutes we were not fluid to move the ball and we didn’t feel safe because we didn’t recover the ball well. Kalvin Phillips had to consume the consequences of a mistake he didn’t make, but one I made. When I did this substitution, the last hour of the game we dominated the opponent, more than dominated the opponent. We didn’t suffer any situations and we created chances to score.”

Phillips’ confidence may take a knock as it is, of course, not the first time that Bielsa has replaced him before half-time. He was also substituted during the early stages of the 2-2 draw with Swansea City last month as Leeds attempted to change the momentum of the contest.

Bielsa may argue that Phillips is not to blame, but the midfielder may have questions to ask when the head coach believes that introducing Lewis Baker or Dallas gives Leeds a better chance of turning things around. Phillips is a versatile midfielder, and while he was not playing particularly well on Saturday, he could have been pushed further forward to try and ask more questions in the final third.

It was a hugely disappointing afternoon for Leeds, but they remain top of the Championship heading into Friday’s clash with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.