Marcelo Bielsa makes Pascal Struijk claim after Leeds win

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Marcelo Bielsa has claimed that Pascal Struijk showed what an important teammate he is to everyone at Leeds United by playing for 45 minutes with a knock during the win over Crystal Palace – in comments reported by Leeds Live.

Struijk returned to the starting lineup for the clash with the Eagles. It had surprised some that he was left on the bench for the goalless draw with Brighton at the weekend.

He came on at the break. And Bielsa suggested after the game that Struijk was not fit enough to play the full 90 minutes.

Nevertheless, he returned to the lineup for Tuesday’s game against Palace. He started at left-back.

Unfortunately, he was involved in another half-time substitution. This time however, he came off for Junior Firpo after going down with a knock just before the break after challenging Jordan Ayew.

The challenge did not appear to be too robust. So it was a worrying sight to see the 22-year-old need treatment.

Bielsa confirmed after the game that Struijk was still nursing the knock that he has been dealing with for a little while. And he lauded the defender for playing in the first place.

“Yes it’s the same [injury to the Brighton game]. All of us value that he played with a physical limitation that he played with, it’s a knack that’s very generous and shows how important a teammate he is to all of us,” he said, as reported by Leeds Live.

Struijk been a revelation for Leeds once again this season

It is remarkable to think where Struijk seemed to be in the squad pecking order just before Leeds sealed promotion.

In fact, his first start at centre-back for the Whites came at Liverpool on the opening day of last season.

By the end of the campaign, it did appear that most Leeds fans felt that the best centre-back partnership within the squad involved Struijk and Diego Llorente.

Liam Cooper has been colossal this season. But Struijk has continued to prove a revelation wherever he has been deployed.

He has arguably been one of Leeds’ best players this season. So it is no surprise that Bielsa was full of praise for the youngster after he stepped up once again.