Marcelo Bielsa admits his Pablo Hernandez decision might ‘seem strange’

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Leeds United suffered their second 4-1 defeat in a row earlier today as Crystal Palace followed Leicester City in dealing out a thrashing to Marcelo Bielsa’s side. 

Eberechi Eze was the star of the show, with an assist for Scott Dann and a wonderful free-kick whilst an own goal from Helder Costa and a strike from Jordan Ayew secured the 4-1 scoreline. Patrick Bamford scored Leeds’ consolation and also had a goal inexplicably ruled out for offside after VAR intervention. 

But it was still another defensively lapsed Leeds performance in which they also lacked the creativity and invention of a Rodrigo or Pablo Hernandez in attacking midfield.

The former was out due to testing positive for Covid-19. The latter was left out entirely and Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed that fact in his post-match press conference whilst also admitting the decision might seem ‘strange’ to some. 

“I evaluate all the players for the upcoming game and I didn’t pick him for this game,” Bielsa informed BBC West Yorkshire Sport. “The decision may seem strange but I choose the 18 players who I feel are most apt for the game.”

The Spaniard was furious when substituted against Leicester in Leeds’ last game, just as he was starting to play himself into contention.

But that came after a poor first-half for the returning Hernandez, who has been struggling with an injury for much of the season. 

Whether Bielsa still does not believe Hernandez is up to scratch or whether this was punishment for his reaction after last week’s substitution is unclear. The fact that Leeds missed his guile and creation is not.