Ronaldo Vieira shares Thomas Christiansen’s message before Leeds win; discloses what he said to Kalvin Phillips

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Leeds United moved themselves to the cusp of the play-off places in the Championship as they beat Middlesbrough 2-1 at Elland Road.

Ronaldo Vieira

Ronaldo Vieira has told BBC Radio Leeds that Thomas Christiansen’s message before Leeds’ game with Middlesbrough was that the team needed to fight for each other, and he suggested that he shared a similar conversation with Kalvin Phillips before the win.

Leeds went into the game looking for a major improvement on their performances from before the international break but would have known that it would have been a big ask with Boro winning their previous three fixtures.

But the Whites stepped up in impressive fashion, winning 2-1 at Elland Road. And while it was often a fairly close game, it was only an incredibly controversial penalty decision in favour of the away side that set up a tense finish.

And after the game, Vieira disclosed Christiansen’s message to the squad before the game, while he was also asked what the difference was between himself and Phillips and Boro’s central midfield pair Grant Leadbitter and Jonny Howson.

“We had a meeting before the game and the gaffer was like, ‘fight for each other, and no matter how the game goes, just stay focused on what you’re doing and manage the game’,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.

“I thought we were tougher [than Howson and Leadbitter]. I thought we chased the ball with high intensity. Me and Kalv just spoke to each and said let’s just fight, not just for us, but for the whole team and the whole team came behind us,” he added.

The performance surely ended any possible doubt regarding whether the players were struggling to play for Christiansen as there was a willingness and that fight in Leeds’ performance that the Whites had really lacked in the weeks leading up to the international break.

And Christiansen will be hoping that the win against Boro proves to be the catalyst Leeds need to get their season back on track heading into the Christmas period.