Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa says two West Ham players are ‘very difficult’ to cope with

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West Ham United duo Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice have been praised by Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa following their Premier League meeting on Monday night.

The Hammers ran out 2-0 winners over the Whites at the London Stadium, with Jesse Lingard and Craig Dawson scoring in the first half.

Lingard opened the scoring on the rebound from his own penalty in the 21st minute, before Dawson headed home from a corner seven minutes later.

While the damage was done in the first half, Soucek and Rice both delivered superb displays to help keep the Elland Road side at bay.

Soucek covered every blade of grass, weighed in with tackles and interceptions, and even withstood a whack to the ribs when he crashed into the post.

Rice, meanwhile, controlled the opposition well, spurred his side on, was calm and composed on the ball, and screened his defence well.

“It’s very difficult to sustain the challenge, the dispute, with Soucek and Rice the whole game,” Bielsa told Leeds Live when asked about his substitutions during the game.

“I thought a way to compensate this quality of the opponent was to distribute the minutes between Rodrigo and Tyler and Dallas and Klich in midfield.”

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And so West Ham continue with their impressive form, putting their unlucky defeat to Manchester City behind them to grab their third win in four Premier League games.

Soucek and Rice have been superb this season, as have numerous other West Ham players, and with 11 league games left to play, the Hammers will surely fancy their chances of a top-four finish.