Marcelo Bielsa says Jurgen Klopp outperformed him in Liverpool's 3-0 win over Leeds United

The Reds were comfortably the better side long before Pascal Struijk was sent off for a tackle on Harvey Elliott, who was stretchered off with a dislocated broken ankle.

By then, though, Liverpool were already 2-0 up on a day when they had 30 shots.

"Evidently the way I planned the game didn't allow for our forwards to shine," concluded Bielsa.

"The opposite happened in terms of what the opposition manager planned because they managed to get their forwards into the game to create danger.

"In the first half every time we lost the ball the opponents created danger. We did have some balls in the first half which we thought would have created more danger or risk for the opponent.

"What I choose didn't allow our very good forwards to create danger, unbalance and shine in the game."

Still images showed Struijk won the ball before Elliott went to ground and some, including Sky pundit Gary Neville, felt it was wrong for him to be red-carded.

Bielsa, though, supported referee Craig Pawson who did not initially blow for a foul but after some though reached the conclusion it was a red card offence and was backed up by video assistant referee Peter Kirkup.

The Premier League explained the decision was due to "the intensity (of the tackle) and endangerment of Elliott”.

"Pascal recovered the ball," said Bielsa. "The actions to get the ball didn't cause an infraction but I have the feeling that the movement of the rest of the body after he recovered the ball made him hit Elliott. I'm totally sure there was no bad intention.

"I regret that such a young career at such a high level has been interrupted and I hope he's able to come back."

Asked if there was any possibility Leeds would appeal the decision, Bielsa appeared to discount it.

"For me the referee decides," he insisted. "He has enough resources to make a decision. I don't know why the decision wasn't immediate and it was after but I never like to condition the decisions that the referee makes."

With Struijk set to miss the next three matches through suspension, the first-half injury to Diego Llorente became even more damaging. The Spanish centre-back picked up a muscle problem, the same reason Adam Forshaw missed the game.