Tony Cascarino has suggested that the manner in which Marcelo Bielsa reacted to his side taking the lead in controversial fashion against Aston Villa was a moment to “savour”.
United opened the scoring when Mateusz Klich played on after a Jonathan Kodija injury that saw most players slow down in anticipation of the ball being put out of play.
A furious mass altercation erupted in the immediate aftermath of the goal, and things were only resolved when Bielsa took the decision to allow Villa to score immediately after the restart.
Writing in a column for The Times, Cascarino was quick to heap praise on the Argentine.
He said: “It may seem strange to say given the revelations earlier in the season that he spies on opponents but I think Bielsa cares about winning games in the right spirit.
“He made a snap judgment call yesterday but the fact he was thinking about what was right rather than focusing on the score at the time sets an example to others.
“You can argue that Jonathan Kodija’s injury was not a serious one, or a head injury, and so Leeds did nothing wrong by scoring. But in that moment, in the context of the game, it felt wrong and Bielsa recognised that. It has the added benefit that if these teams meet in the play-offs there shouldn’t be any lingering resentment.
“The game has plenty of morally questionable aspects — diving, time-wasting, play-acting — so we should savour moments like this.”
OPINION