Marcelo Bielsa says 'the difference of three goals is bigger than the difference in the performance of the two teams' as Leeds United sweep Southampton aside

Patrick Bamford, Stuart Dallas and Raphinha produced precise finishes to secure a 3-0 win after an even and goalless first half.

“In the second half having been able to score so quickly (Bamford's goal came after 47 minutes) opens up the game but the difference of three goals is bigger than the difference in the performance of the two teams,” said the coach.

“We had to put in a big effort to not allow them to dominate, and to dominate in the moments we did. Our offensive game was good, because we managed to create double the chances of the opponent.”

Diego Llorente made only his second Premier League start in Leeds's back three and although he gave the ball away a couple of times in the first half, as in the second he grew stronger as the game went on and produced some excellent moments, including the pass which started the move which ended in Bamford's goal.

“Our defensive game is collective,” stressed Bielsa when asked about the Spaniard's defending. “Our forwards do a lot of work so it's less difficult for our defenders to recover the ball but evidently Llorente is a player with hierarchy and in a game like today when the opponents used different strikers, the majority of them with quality, his contribution was very necessary.”

Raphinha's goal capped an outstanding individual performance which ought to have been rewarded with some assists, only to be let down by poor finishing. The number of spurned chances he created cast doubts on Bielsa's modest assessment of the difference between the teams, at least after half-time.

“He's a player who unbalances by himself,” commented Bielsa. “He's very ambitious, very competitive. It's a mixture that's not very common because he works a lot and on top of that he's creative and can unbalance.

“I sincerely think I can add very little to his game.

“The best thing you can do with players who are so spontaneous is to let them be themselves.”

Dallas celebrated his goal by lifting up a Leeds shirt bearing a dedication to Kalvin Phillips's grandmother, who died recently having shot to prominence on the Whites' Amazon Prime documentary. Bielsa also paid tribute to her.

“Phillips is a player we love a lot,” he said. “He is an emblem of Leeds United. After we got promoted Kalvin's grandmother became known to the public and we started to care about her.

“Kalvin had many reasons why he loved her so much and she was a very charismatic and very attractive person to those who didn't know her. We regret deeply she's no longer with us. The loss is great for Kalvin and all his family.”

Both sides again struggled with the Elland Road pitch, relaid in January, although Southampton manager Ralf Hasenhuttl was unwilling to use it as an excuse.

“It was difficult for both teams,” he acknowledged. “Maybe they are a bit more used to it and knew they had to flick it more but it was hard to turn. They adapted better and deserved to win.

“They have quality and speed and as soon as you go 1-0 down it's very difficult for you.

“They have more quality in the one-on-ones, they are more dynamic and it was difficult for us.”

He also paid a very back-handed compliment to what he saw as Leeds's clever use of “tactical fouls”.

“It's tough to create chances against them because they are very clever, they always stopped our counter-attacks with a simple in midfield that stops everything,” he said.

“They do it very smartly and they were nasty today, and we haven't been in the second half. We were in the first half, but in the second half we were a nice opponent who delivered chances to give them the three points very easily.”

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