Marcelo Bielsa on Leeds United midfield struggle and Diego Llorente injury situation after win at Newcastle United

The Whites came under heavy pressure from Steve Bruce's strugglers yet came away with a 2-1 win that snapped their 2021 losing run. Defeats to Tottenham and Brighton sandwiched an FA Cup exit at Crawley before tonight's victory, which came courtesy of goals from wingers Raphinha and Harrison. It was after Harrison's fine half volley put the Whites in front for the second time that the home side began to take control and cause Bielsa's men issues from corners and down the middle of the pitch. "After the Harrison goal we lost the ball," said Bielsa. "We only managed to recover the ball in the last five minutes of the game. They had 20 minutes in which they could have drawn the game. "On the whole we created more chances than they did throughout the game. But it is true that in the final 20 minutes they managed to create some chances from corners." Bielsa lost Diego Llorente to injury on nine minutes and had to send on Pascal Struijk in his place. He then replaced Gjanni Alioski and Patrick Bamford with Mateusz Klich and Tyler Roberts respectively, which meant when the time to defend came, Leeds had to do so with attackers. "There was a moment in the game where Phillips had to defend lower in the pitch than he had been," said Bielsa. "Klich also had to defend deeper. Tyler and Rodrigo as well. We stopped counting on Stuart Dallas in the midfield as he started playing as a left-back. In the moment where we most had to defend we couldn't do it with Phillips and Dallas in the centre of the pitch. And Rodrigo, Tyler and Klich had many defensive functions. They are players who are primarily more creative. The changes had run out and I didn't find a way to make the midfield stronger. "Very quickly we had to defend more than we had been having to do so. You could notice this." But they hung on for a vital victory and moved to 26 points from their first 19 Premier League fixtures. ""It was very important for us to win," he said. "The majority of teams go on runs that are similar to the ones that we have had and the longer it takes for them to be resolved the more difficult it is so the quicker you get out of one of these runs the better." The loss of Llorente was a huge negative for Bielsa, not least because the summer signing has suffered so many injuries since his arrival. He picked up a groin injury on international duty earlier in the season before even making his Leeds debut, then sustained a fresh muscular problem when he came on against Chelsea in December. The centre-half came through 45 minutes for the Under 23s last Monday but lasted just nine at Newcastle before going to ground and calling for the physio. Bielsa's chief concern is the player's morale. "He has a similar problem to the one he had before," said the head coach. "It's a problem for him, for us, for all of us. In this moment what worries me is Diego's state of mind given the succession of injuries he has had."