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Marcelo Bielsa lavishes praise on Kalvin Phillips for tussle with Arsenal star in FA Cup exit

Leeds were beaten by Arsenal in the previous round but several stars, like Kalvin Phillips, put up a great show

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa had a lot of praise for Kalvin Phillips.

The 24-year-old has been in great form this season for the Championship side and has carried that from the previous campaign.

Leeds are second in the league standings and in an automatic promotion spot. Bielsa’s men were close to making it to the Premier League in the previous season but missed out in the playoffs.

Kalvin Phillips Mesut Ozil
Kalvin Phillips takes on Mesut Ozil in the 2019-20 FA Cup (Image credit: Getty)

They seem to be in a decent position, and it will be interesting to see how they do.

However, their form could be linked to how Phillips does. Bielsa was speaking ahead of the clash against Sheffield Wednesday and highlighted the 24-year-old’s form (h/t Leeds United):

“Phillips is playing excellently, but he always plays well.

“He makes a lot of effort for the team, he has a good personality, he takes risks and his responsibility doesn’t intimidate him.”

Leeds suffered heartbreak in the FA Cup to Arsenal but Bielsa was impressed with what he saw.

The Championship team put up a great performance at the Emirates and the manager was impressed with how Phillips dealt with one star:

“In the last match he played against Mesut Ozil and I think that he did very well against him.”

Phillips has excelled under the tutelage of Bielsa and the sky is the limit for the 24-year-old.

Kalvin Phillips Leeds United
Kalvin Phillips is one of the top performers at Leeds (Image credit: Getty)

Leeds stuttering again

Although they are second in the league, Bielsa’s team have been a little out of form. They have won just one game from their last five in the Championship and sit one point behind West Brom.

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Leeds still have a six-point buffer from third-placed Brentford. However, they have to be careful or they could fall into the playoff positions again.