Kalvin Phillips makes Leeds United declaration ahead of tricky Christmas fixture list

The Whites earned only the club's third victory of the Premier League campaign in midweek with a dramatic late win over Crystal Palace at Elland Road.

There is, though, no time to rest for Marcelo Bielsa's men.

Leeds are now preparing to face Brentford on Sunday - again in LS11 - as the festive matches begin to take shape with the top flight heading towards the new year.

United's clash with the Eagles sparked a run of seven games in 28 days for Leeds over the festive season.

December looks to be a tough month to navigate for Bielsa with Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa to come before the close of 2021.

"It's very important," Phillips said, when asked about building momentum.

"It's a massive win for us. We're very happy in there. We've just got to try and go on a little run of games now. We've got some very tough fixtures leading up towards Christmas.

"We've just got to knuckle down and keep working hard. I think there's always a concern when you're creating chances but not scoring. I think the way we have been playing we have been getting better every week.

"Obviously we struggled at the start but we're just happy to get the three points."

Asked about the confidence Raphinha showed in taking the winning penalty on Tuesday night, he added: "I think he's always been like that. You can see Rapha is a very, very good player.

"He just oozes with class. I didn't expect anything else other than him scoring. It's a massive relief, I think we deserved the win, created some good chances in the first half.

"We got a little bit lucky in the final minutes with the handball. We're just very happy. There is always concern when you are creating chances and not scoring. We started struggling this season, so we are happy to get the three points.