Marcelo Bielsa praises Diego Llorente, Raphinha and Illan Meslier after 'deserved' Leeds United win over Southampton with flattering scoreline

The Whites didn't take the lead until after a first half that saw the Saints create danger and cause problems with their press. Patrick Bamford's opener two minutes after the break swung the game in their favour, before late goals from Stuart Dallas and Raphinha took it away from Southampton entirely.

"In the second half having been able to score so quickly it opens up the game," said Bielsa, who gave value to getting the first goal in such a tight battle.

"We had to put in a big effort to not allow them to dominate and to dominate in the moments we did. Even if our offensive game was good, because we managed to create double the chances of the opponent, the dominance alternated.

"The difference of the three goals is different to how it was between the two teams, even if I think the victory was deserved. Throughout the game it was difficult to establish differences between the two teams. When the games are so close, the team that scores first gets the advantage. It is not definitive but has weight."

Bielsa credited the work of his attackers in defending from the front but felt Diego Llorente, who played his first full 90 minutes since signing last summer, made an important impact on his home debut.

"Our defensive game is collective, our forwards do a lot of work so it's less difficult for our defenders to recover the ball," he said.

"Evidently Llorente is a player with hierarchy. In a game like today where the opponent used different strikers and the majority of them with quality, his contribution was very necessary."

Two others who made a difference did their work at opposite ends of the pitch - Raphinha and goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

Brazilian winger Raphinha got in behind the Saints defence in the first half but was unable to hit the net. He continued to plague them after the break and as the visitors tried to get back into the game he was a threat on the counter attack. His performance was capped with a sensational free-kick. For his part, Meslier made some important stops to deny the Saints in both halves.

"Raphinha is a very necessary player because he can unbalance teams by himself," said the head coach.

"Our game is based on combinations and to have a player who can combine and create in individual actions, that is very important.

"Illan Meslier had an influence on the final result because he neutralised the opportunities of the opponent."