Phil Hay's emphatic eight-word verdict explains Bielsa's surprise Leeds decision v Man Utd

Raphinha was left out of Leeds United’s team to face Manchester United on Sunday for tactical reasons, reliable journalist Phil Hay has explained.

The Whites were hoping for a memorable win at home to their bitter rivals, but unfortunately things didn’t pan out that way.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side were beaten 4-2 at Elland Road, levelling the game after being 2-0 down, only for the visitors to pull away again later in the second half.

Raphinha was surprisingly left out of the starting line-up, coming on at half-time and equalising for Leeds, and some fans may have been wondering if it was a fitness-related decision by the manager, given that the 25-year-old is their top scorer and arguably their best player so far this season.

However, taking to Twitter after the game, Hay outlined in an eight-word explainer that the Brazilian was left out purely down to choice by Bielsa.

The journalist tweeted: “Raphinha was on the bench for tactical reasons.”

While dropping a player of Rapinha’s ability is always likely to cause some surprise, he hasn’t pulled his weight in recent weeks and his mind has looked like it has been elsewhere.  A two-out-of-10 rating against Everton from MOT Leeds News is a testament to his decline in recent form.

Bielsa got the desired response from the winger when he came on, though, with his performance far more vibrant and his equaliser raising the roof off Elland Road.

The hope is that Raphinha returns to his best form in the coming weeks after this cameo – Leeds desperately need him to do so, with a relegation battle looking increasingly likely as the weeks progress.

In other news, three Leeds players struggled in the defeat to United. Find out who they are here.

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