Leeds latest news: 'Absolutely brilliant' star 'head & shoulders above everyone' on Sunday | OneFootball

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GiveMeSport

·23 November 2021

Leeds latest news: 'Absolutely brilliant' star 'head & shoulders above everyone' on Sunday

Article image:Leeds latest news: 'Absolutely brilliant' star 'head & shoulders above everyone' on Sunday

Journalist Paul Brown reckons that Kalvin Phillips was the best player on the pitch by the first hour of Leeds' defeat at Tottenham on Sunday.

Despite a strong first-half showing, Marcelo Bielsa's men slipped to a 2-1 defeat in north London following Spurs' second-half comeback.


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But Brown was impressed with what he saw from the England international in the opening 60 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

What happened against Tottenham?

Leeds arrived at Spurs looking to build on their recent form having collected five points from their previous three Premier League games.

And the feel good factor was evident to see, with Leeds dominating the first period in which they managed six shots on goal and two on target, whilst restricting Tottenham to just two altogether.

The last of those gave the Yorkshire giants a first-half advantage when Jack Harrison skinned Emerson Royal before crossing for Daniel James to tap home his first Leeds goal from close-range.

Article image:Leeds latest news: 'Absolutely brilliant' star 'head & shoulders above everyone' on Sunday

Unfortunately for Bielsa's side, Spurs emerged from the break a different team and earned the points thanks to goals from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Sergio Reguilon.

Regardless of the result, Brown was left thrilled with Phillips' performance.

What did Brown say?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "I absolutely love Kalvin Phillips and for an hour on Sunday, he was head and shoulders above everyone. He just looked absolutely brilliant."

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How did Phillips perform against Spurs?

According to WhoScored, the England midfielder was only Leeds' seventh-best player on the day with a rating of 6.79. However, that doesn't quite tell the full story.

Playing in a deeper centre-back role, Phillips appeared to relish the challenge up against his captain at international level, Harry Kane, and didn't give the Tottenham man an inch for the majority of the game, whilst making crucial notable challenges on Heung Min Son and Reguilon.

Even when Kane did get a rare sight on goal, Phillips was there to snuff out the danger.

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Article image:Leeds latest news: 'Absolutely brilliant' star 'head & shoulders above everyone' on Sunday

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Meanwhile, the boyhood Leeds fan showed his impressive passing range, successfully completing 73, the most of any player from either time, whilst he comfortably managed the most touches from anyone (112), most ball recoveries (11), most interceptions and blocked shots (3).

Phillips could have arguably done more for Hojbjerg's equaliser, but it didn't overshadow what was a brilliant display from the midfielder.

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