Don Hutchison has claimed that Kalvin Phillips was ‘by far’ the best player on the pitch during Leeds United’s penalty shootout win against Fulham in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night, as he told BBC Radio 5 Live Sport.
Even though Leeds put out a fairly strong team against the Championship side, they needed penalties to progress after a goalless 90 minutes.
Given the injuries and suspensions, Leeds have at the back, it meant that Phillips had to play at the heart of their defence.
It would have been a night to remember for Charlie Cresswell because the 19-year-old partnered his fellow academy product at the back.
Whilst Marcelo Bielsa’s side couldn’t find the back of the net, they ensured they kept a clean sheet against Marco Silva’s free-scoring side.
But one man that stood head and shoulders above everyone, according to Hutchison, was Phillips, as he labelled his passing range as ‘outrageous’.
“By far, Kalvin Phillips was the best player on the pitch,” said Hutchison. “You watch him play, he glides through games and he sees the picture right in front of him.
“His passing range is outrageous. He is very, very calm. Everything about him. His running game.
“Sometimes when you see a player and you think ‘he is going right to the very top’.”
There is a reason why Phillips was bossing proceedings for England at Euro 2020 and has now become a key member of Gareth Southgate’s side squad.
Him and Declan Rice have formed quite the partnership in the middle of the park, a different role to the single-pivot he plays in Leeds colours.
But whilst his team didn’t win over the 90 minutes last night, they did keep a clean sheet and progress through to the next round.
Now it’s a case of taking that onto the Premier League stage and beating West Ham at the weekend because they need that first win of the season.
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