Marcelo Bielsa hails Leeds' "maturity" against Big Six sides

| 26 April 2021

Since the turn of the year Leeds have beaten Leicester and Manchester City, while they have also held United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Marcelo Bielsa senses Leeds are learning fast in their bid to become a genuine Premier League force.

Bielsa's side maintained their impressive run of results against the top flight's elite by drawing 0-0 against Manchester United on Sunday at Elland Road.

Since the turn of the year Leeds have beaten Leicester and Manchester City, while they have also held top-six sides Chelsea and Liverpool.

💬 "There are signs of evolution." Marcelo gives his thoughts on today's 0-0 draw with the Red Devils pic.twitter.com/sXBmYGJAF9

— Leeds United (@LUFC) April 25, 2021

"All the players have constructed a solid group. Throughout this time they have made errors and have learned how to correct them," Bielsa said.

"In the same way they have learned to avoid errors that are avoidable. I have a feeling there has been a growth in the maturity and their experience to manage these games."

Leeds appear to have tailored their gung-ho approach following entertaining defeats to Liverpool, Leicester, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham earlier in the season.

The Whites have displayed a stubborn resilience in more recent encounters against the top-six sides and that continued on Sunday.

A clean sheet and a great fight by the team today 💪🏽🔥 Point well earned! #MOT 🤍 pic.twitter.com/KEmkkisqDe

— Kalvin Phillips (@Kalvinphillips) April 25, 2021

"The way in which we have administered the different periods in the games has been improving," Bielsa added.

"The capacity of the players to go up against these very good players has also increased.

"Aggressively, but not in a definitive manner, we can impose ourselves on the opposing defence and avoid being overcome by attackers of the highest level.

"These are individual merits and there's a great togetherness within the components, which allows them to support each other throughout the whole game."

Marcus Rashford shows his frustration as Manchester United found no way through at Elland Road (Peter Powell/PA)

Leeds made it six top-flight games unbeaten for the first time since 2002, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side extended their unbeaten Premier League away run to 24 matches.

Solskjaer felt it was two points dropped on a frustrating afternoon at Elland Road – his side sit 10 points behind leaders Manchester City with five games remaining.

But the Norwegian said he had no problem with an angry exchange between Harry Maguire and team-mate Fred as tempers flared in the second half.

Maguire was heard calling Fred a "f*****g idiot" during a break in play, but Solskjaer was unmoved by the spat.

The United captain reflects on today's goalless draw 💬#MUFC | #LEEMUN

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 25, 2021

"We have got a group that demands a lot of each other," he said. "The standard is high, both in training and the game.

"It's not just about being a nice guy and cajoling. We demand maximum effort.

"I was really proud in the second half how strong we looked, how we dominated the possession, the regains, how quickly we won the ball back and never felt they threatened our goal in the second half.

"But we missed a little bit, an extra spark to win the game."