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Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa shook off any concern over Raphinha’s display against Aston Villa, insisting that Daniel James just stole the spotlight.

The Brazil star went into Wednesday’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Villa as the Whites’ top Premier League goalscorer this season. As such, it came as a surprise to see him miss out on the flurry of goals.

Instead, James – playing as a striker – had arguably his best game in that position by grabbing a first-half brace.

Indeed, he opened the scoring for Leeds after 10 minutes with a fine turn and finish. However, he also fought for a scrappier second at the near post to show his versatility.

Raphinha offered little threat overall, but Bielsa insisted that he does not mind if his attacking players take it in turns to be the star man up front.

“We count on creative players to construct the offensive game,” the manager told his post-match press conference.

“To attack is very difficult, it’s the most difficult thing in football and it’s difficult to play well for those players in attack continuously.

“Normally, the contributions even out. Sometimes one player stands out, other times another. But it’s the norm in the offensive part of every team.”

Further back, Bielsa resisted the urge to bring Adam Forshaw back into the starting line-up in midfield.

However, the Argentine got that call right as Mateusz Klich, Rodrigo and James performed excellently.

“If he [Forshaw] were to play then one of James, Rodrigo, Klich would have had to come out,” Bielsa added.

“After their performance against Newcastle I thought they deserved to stay in the team.”

After a five-goal first half, Diego Llorente equalised for Leeds before the game turned scrappy and sour. Indeed, Villa finished with 10 men when Ezri Konsa saw red for a needless block on Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

Bielsa admits missed Leeds opportunity

Despite the drop in quality, Bielsa admitted that his side did enough to threaten for a winner.

“It was a game with alternate dominance, with moments of good football from both teams. A second-half that didn’t stand out as much,” he said.

“Perhaps we could have unbalanced in the second half. We created a few more chances which we were in conditions to do.

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“What we wanted was to prevent them from creating danger, but for us to continue to attack with fluidity.”

Leeds return to action on Saturday when facing Everton at Goodison Park.

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