Premier League rumoursPremier League rumours
Premier League rumours

Leeds United transfer rumours: Manchester United and Liverpool ‘ready to battle’ for Leeds starlet, Arsenal reportedly lead striker race

Relief was the emotion coursing through Marcelo Bielsa as he shared a long embrace with assistant Pablo Quiroga during Leeds United’s ‘necessary’ 3-1 win over Burnley.

It was a rare show of affection from the Whites head coach, whose celebrations of goals is ordinarily relatively conservative and almost always done individually. As James secured the victory for Leeds, Bielsa turned to hug Quiroga tightly in the technical area.

The importance of Daniel James’ late headed goal, which added to strikes from Jack Harrison and Stuart Dallas, was felt keenly by the Argentine.

“It was very necessary to get the win and it was a relief for us to be able to get it,” he said after his side opened up an eight-point lead on the Clarets, who occupy 18th place in the Premier League table.

“Of course I don’t ignore the situation that we’re in and I don’t ignore what my responsibilities are, that can’t not influence my state of mood.”

The result and the scoreline were deserved, he felt.

“We managed a fair victory,” said Bielsa.

“The difference I thought was also fair. It’s very difficult to play against Burnley. They have it very clear how they want to play and they always keep the differences close.

“What we were trying to do was recover the best way we know how to play and in some ways we got it.

“As you well know in football you have to prove yourself. Even if the performance today was good we have to maintain that level of performance against any opponent and on any pitch.”

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.