Video - Marcelo Bielsa left to rue another one that got away as Leeds United leave Fulham empty-handed

The Whites hit the post and saw the ball cleared from the goalmouth twice in the second half, while – in Bielsa’s eyes – containing a dangerous Fulham attacking style.

Yet it was another case of Leeds not getting what they deserved and it continued the running theme of dropped points in the nation’s capital.

“We played against one of the more powerful opponents,” said Bielsa.

“We have defended well. They scored from a corner and from a penalty.

“They had just one more chance, we had seven or eight chances to win the match.

“We defended very well because we played against great attackers.”

The defeat leaves United in second place at Christmas, three points off leaders West Bromwich Albion and nine clear of third-placed Fulham after 23 games, with a home match against fourth-placed Preston North End, who drew 0-0 at Cardiff City.

At the halfway point, Bielsa believes he is yet to see a team outperform his side. But he still needs more from them.

“The level of play is good, I don’t think we have played a match where the opponent played better than us,” he said. “But imagine which kind of conclusion we would have today if we had five more points or three more points.

“It is necessary to ask ourselves what would happen if something different should have happened to obtain three points. We have missed points that we deserved to win. But important teams get what they deserve. When they don’t get what they deserve, there are some things to improve.”

Leeds will be without Pablo Hernandez against Preston, the Spaniard pulled up in the first minute with what appeared to be a hamstring issue.