Marcelo Bielsa is relieved of Leeds United’s victory and an unlikely role model emerges: Beren Cross

Dancing on ice

Obviously, it was football that Leeds United and Southampton were playing Tuesday night, but the two sets of players could have been playing on ice based on their stability.

As the game progressed, they adapted, but for the first 10 minutes of the game the surface touched danger.

This is the third match to be played on the grass since it was bought for £ 300,000 from Tottenham Hotspur following the defeat of Brighton & Hove Albion last month.

And yet it shows no signs of improving as it is. Perhaps warmer temperatures as spring rolls in, with less rain, will improve the grip players get, but you worry about that in its current state.

Patrick Bamford has all but apologized after recent Elland Road games with the streaming media by trying to downplay how slippery it is.

The channel in front of the John Charles Stand was especially cut and he saw the worst of the drops as the match progressed.

On one or two occasions the falls almost led to clear scoring opportunities for the rival, which is not how anyone wants to see a game decided.

Llorente overcomes an obstacle

As long as he doesn’t wake up this morning with any problems after a full 90 minutes, Diego Llorente will breathe a deep sigh of relief today at Thorp Arch.

The Spanish international has completed his first 90 minutes with the Whites since signing for Real Sociedad in September.

After the injuries he suffered in each of his first two games, it is a big step forward for him in his white career from this point.

It was also a pretty solid start for Llorente, who grew in the game and improved as the team did in the second half.

On a treacherous surface, you sometimes feared the worst in the first 20 minutes with Llorente’s tall body, high center of gravity and injury history.

Nathan Tella was really enjoying running with the 27-year-old, and the overturned penalty decision was a byproduct of a matchup Llorente was struggling with.

There were also rushed and misplaced passes. Llorente appeared to fight back bursts of blood to his head as he fought his way into competitive action and, without any help from the surface, gave up possession in dangerous spots.

However, things got better after the break and we started to see some of the kind that someone must have to participate regularly in Spain.

It was Llorente who started the play that led to Bamford’s first goal, while the defender could have had a goal of his own after first intercepting a Southampton pass and then firing a counterattack that saw him shoot at goal from six yards.

With Pascal Struijk well established and dependable now, Robin Koch making progress on his comeback and Liam Cooper hitting a consistency streak, everything looks rosy in central defense right now.

A look at Marcelo Bielsa’s comments after the Newcastle injury would tell you everything you need to know about how relieved he will be.

“It’s a problem for him, for us, for everyone,” he said. “Right now, what worries me is Diego’s state of mind, given the succession of injuries he has had. It is natural that he is sad about this now and we share that sadness.”

The last injury weighed heavily on Bielsa. You will be cautiously optimistic from now on.

Raphinha unplayable

We are running out of words to describe what Raphinha is doing on the Premier League pitches right now. He seems to be on another level with respect to anyone else who shares a field with him.

While he should receive some criticism for the shooting delay that Oriol Romeu eventually denied with one of the season’s innings, Raphinha was at the forefront of the demolition of the second half.

Jan Bednarek is a trade center back, although he was forced to be a right back due to an injury crisis at St Mary’s Stadium. Today he will wake up from nightmares about the Brazilian.

The Polish international didn’t even try to stay close to Raphinha as Leeds built from behind and every time Illan Meslier looked up from his box he saw the 24-year-old screaming for the ball with no one within 20 meters of him.

The former Rennes player could have had five assists that night. Every time he had the ball in the last third, he made things happen or expertly played set pieces. He’s got the whole package and then with the game already won and United sailing, he somehow concedes a free kick from outside the area.

It is an absolute crime that the white faithful cannot enjoy and taste this Brazilian majesty for themselves, but what perspective does he have for his return later this year.

Costa follows Roberts’ lead

If at the beginning of the year you were asked to pick the two senior players who would likely play less between then and the end of the season for Bielsa, you would have picked Tyler Roberts and Helder Costa.

The pair were in disgrace and showed almost nothing in the rare gasps of air that Bielsa gave them from the bench, but as is the case in an eight-month football season, they have served their sentence and rounded off in some way.

Injuries promoted Roberts through the ranks on the bench and onto the starting lineup, while Costa is slowly but surely following behind.

The goal at Arsenal last weekend capped off a pretty decent turnaround before a more limited time, and a missed shot to glory, at his former club and then last night was his best yet.

That half was absolutely the most we’ve seen from Costa since at least Fulham’s visit to Elland Road in September.

Southampton played well in his hands. There was an ocean of space for the wide man in high heels to attack and terrorize Ryan Bertrand. He fouled, won free throws, delivered key passes around the area, carried the ball down the field.

The Portuguese’s tentative rebirth has coincided with a losing streak for Jack Harrison, who was substituted at halftime for the second time in three games on Tuesday.

Just over two weeks ago, Harrison was scoring his third goal in four games, but the goals may have masked a difficult period for Harrison, who is now under pressure from Costa to start.

The remarkable campaign continues

It’s a bit fickle to switch between mid-table safety and side European football on the strength of the most recent result, but here we are.

The losses to Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers gave what we felt was a kind of reality check, but another look at the table gets the juices flowing again.

Everton, Aston Villa and Spurs are immediately above the Whites with games in hand, while you have to think that the deepest and most expensive squads of the elite will ensure that they remain more consistent than the Whites during the next three months.

However, it ignores the issue of European football. Liverpool, last season’s out of control champions, are just five points better than newly promoted Leeds in sixth place. That is outrageous.

As Liam Cooper said in his pre-match schedule notes on Tuesday, let’s get to 40 points and see how far they can go with the free kick they will have in recent weeks against teams like Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Spurs.