Leeds United leapfrogged promotion rivals Sheffield United in the table on Tuesday night, but Chris Wilder’s side can reclaim second spot again if they beat Birmingham City.
Alex Neil has revealed that Marcelo Bielsa told him that his Preston North End team were ‘excellent’ following their 2-0 defeat to Leeds on Tuesday night.
The Lilywhites were in the game up until Ben Pearson’s sending off just after the break for bringing down Patrick Bamford as he was going to run through on goal.
On the hour mark, Bamford punished Neil’s 10 men by opening the scoring with a stunning strike from outside of the area before he made sure of the points late on.
Speaking after the match, Neil briefly shared that he spoke with Bielsa who offered nothing but praise to his play-off-chasing team.
“I spoke to their manager on the way in here and he said our team was excellent,” said Neil, as quoted by Preston’s official Twitter account.
The result has boosted Leeds’ chances of finishing in the top two and has further dented their Tuesday night opponent’s chances of securing a top-six finish.
As things stand, Bielsa’s side are two points ahead of third-placed Sheffield United in the table, but they can go above their rivals if they pick up three points at Birmingham City on Wednesday night.
As for Preston, they have slipped to 11th in the Championship table and are now six points behind sixth-placed Aston Villa who travel to relegation-threatened Rotherham on Wednesday night.
Just like the race for the top-two, it won’t be a surprise to see the race to finish in the playoff places go to the last day of the Championship season.
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