What Marcelo Bielsa said about Leeds United loss vs Man Utd, Robin Koch and missile incident in pre-Liverpool press conference

It’s the option that we’re managing.

We need to see the reasons why we are conceding all of these goals and try to prevent the reasons why this is happening, from happening.

I didn’t say that the defence needed to improve, I said that the defensive system needed to improve. The consistency that the players in the midfield offer allows us to strengthen the defensive system. The characteristics of the players that play in the midfield made that zone more defensive or offensive. And I said all of this to explain because we conceded 50 goals. We are the second team with the most goal conceded and have to make accounts of this because I’m the one responsible for the team. I wanted to explain that in the game against Manchester that we weren’t able to count on Phillips, Koch or Pascal, who are the three players who take on that role of defensive mid to solidify... You don’t resolve that with bringing signings in. Because if not, we would have four players for that position. Imagine being able to count on Phillips, Koch, and Pascal for that position - it’s a privilege for a team. But at the same time, occasionally situations like this are presented. So strangely, the fourth player that occupies that position is the best player of the team in the second half, which was the case with Forshaw. Of course, analysing the last game, we created eight chances and the opponent created 8 chances at goal as well, but they managed to score double the amount of goals. When we analyse the defensive behaviour - I’m referring to the structure that I generate - has conceded fifty goals. And after, we have to analyse why - what are the real reasons? and how do we prevent this from happening? That’s my function. And when you’ve played this amount of games and conceded this amount of goals then the conclusions are clear.

I re-iterate, the club has the capacity to analyse specific situations, but I can’t. What I am in agreement with is that we shouldn’t dramatize knocks to the head. It’s inconvenient to dramatize situations that don’t deserve.

I have no capacity to evaluate the rules. They tell me what the rules are, and I abide by them. After what happened with Derby County, I have made myself completely strict and made sure I abide by the rules. There has been a lot of injustice that I haven’t mentioned. One of the consequences that generates the clash that Koch received, I never read any commentary about that in particular. It is the intention not the gravity of the injury that is punished. And so of course, considering that detail, I value that McTominay didn’t receive a sending off. It was right that it was that way as he didn’t have any intention to hit Koch. And he didn’t have any intention to clash with James, even if he did so. So a very important conclusion we can draw here is that even as grave a foul as a player can commit, if he doesn’t have the intention of commiting it, he shouldn’t be severely punished. Like, for example, how Pascal was punished for the tackle on Elliott. Of course, that’s where the excessive use of force comes into play, but it’s the intention behind it also. And I think that our conduct in the face of this action is the same that Elliott had in that moment. To say that there was no bad intention, and that Pascal didn’t deserve to be punished. In this case, it’s exactly the same but the other way around. We celebrate that McTominay wasn’t cautioned because he had no intention.

Koch clashes and he gets a cut, where blood stars to come out. He continues in the game after the game that the doctors had, that blood was flowing from his head. He continued to play because the only problem that he had was a cut on his head. That was not the case. After having been five minutes with the player, the medical staff would have substituted him. The consequences of the clash was something different from just a clash of heads and the cut that was produced. So the first conclusion, after being five minutes with the player, was that he could continue playing as he only had a cut and that the issue was resolved. That’s why he came off, they bandaged him, he changed his shirt and he changed his shorts and he continued to play. During the time he continued to play, he acted perfectly. There was no indicator. I looked over the sequences and there was no reason to believe he had any limitation. In the given moment, the player sits down, the doctors come on, and he indicates that he has symptoms that he didn’t have when the clash happened. In that moment, as it couldn’t have been any other way since the symptoms were not there, we made the change. You know, or you should know, that the symptoms of this are 24 hours to appear. So in the solution of the subject, we all did exactly what corresponded. We did nothing different from the protocol, everything according to the protocol. I was convinced that it was just the bleeding from the cut, as that was the first conclusion after the evaluation the player had. After, when he manifested different symptoms, he was substituted. The control that the player receives... the protocol that is applied is what generates whether he should be substitutes or not. Not every knock generates a substitution. If not, the knock that James received would have also resulted in a substitution. As that didn’t happen, what was the reason for the change? That’s why I didn’t want to make use of the fourth sub, as I didn’t have the certainty. The sub deserved, or was contemplated in deserving that fourth sub. Initially, it was the cut, and not the clash. And after, it was the clash. I stayed with the initial decision. It was absurd idea of no one to abuse the rules. The prevention of the knocks on the heads of the players. The situation is very serious, very important, that can generate real dramas. It is also true that you shouldn’t dramatise situations that don’t deserve to be interpreted in the way that this situation has been interpreted. If there’s something that the medical staff at Leeds have done, then I as an extension of their decisions, is to abide strictly by the rules about covid, any knocks to the head, or anything other case. If there’s any club that it’s at it impeccably with all regards to health - it’s Leeds.

He’s perfect. Can you be more precise in the question toward the end?

Marcelo Bielsa takes his seat.