Marcelo Bielsa's delight at Raphinha progress after Brazilian scores Leeds United winner against Carlo Ancelotti's Everton

Marcelo Bielsa is delighted with the way Leeds United's Goodison Park match-winner Raphinha has settled into Premier League life.
Leeds United winger Raphinha celebrates his match winner at Everton.Pic: Jonathan GawthorpeLeeds United winger Raphinha celebrates his match winner at Everton.Pic: Jonathan Gawthorpe
Leeds United winger Raphinha celebrates his match winner at Everton.Pic: Jonathan Gawthorpe

The Brazilian winger, a deadline day signing from Rennes, drove a long distance strike past Jordan Pickford to give the Whites a 1-0 victory over Carlo Ancelotti's Toffees.

Raphinha had been denied by the England international goalkeeper in the first half, as Leeds caused the hosts problems down both flanks and created good chances.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Pickford also saved from Patrick Bamford, while Jack Harrison hit the post and Mateusz Klich fired over the bar after the break. Leeds didn't create as many opportunities in the second half but put in a full-blooded effort, running from end to end to stay in control, before Raphinha's 79th minute winner.

Bielsa said his players' work-rate had made the victory possible.

"It was a very difficult game for us, if we didn't put the effort in that we did it would have been a lot more complicated for us," he said.

"I didn't beat Ancelotti, Leeds beat Everton, the victory should be attributed to the 11 players on the field. It was 11 v 11. It was very difficult to defend against Everton. There were infinite modifications throughout the game. This shows the strength of Ancelotti so we should attribute it to the players.

"The 11 players out on the field won the game.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We also played against a rival who attacked and attacked well. A rival who created goalscoring opportunities. When an opponent attacks like they did, we managed to recover the ball well, it was perhaps less difficult for us to go on the attack."

Raphinha's pace troubled the Everton back line and he refused to stick to his wing, darting into the middle to link up with the midfield and tracking back to contribute defensively.

Bielsa likes the winger's wanderlust.

"He is a player who has adapted very quickly to the Premier League," said the head coach.

"Victor Orta who chose him and brought him here had identified that he had the necessary qualities to adapt to the Premier League. He is a player who can unbalance, who is potent, moves all around the pitch and has the capacity to unbalance from anywhere."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Carlo Ancelotti had already used two of his substitutions before Leeds scored, whereas Bielsa waited until after the visitors were ahead, eventually sending Ian Poveda on in the 85th minute. He said the game's intensity kept him from making a change earlier.

"It was a game where it was very difficult to come on," he said.

"You had to come in ready for this game, there was a big intensity and you had to be switched on to be able to come on. I thought that unless there was something indispensable I wasn't going to make any changes, the players that came off where ones who were very tired or had small knocks."

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.