Marcelo Bielsa hails 'great impact' of Leeds United goalkeeper Kiko Casilla in victory over Huddersfield Town
Two second-half goals from Gjanni Alioski and Pablo Hernandez were enough to send Leeds back to the top of the Championship but they didn't have it all their own way in a feisty clash against the Terriers.
Casilla made vital saves in both halves, first tipping a Steve Mounie header over the bar at 0-0 before saving from point-blank range from Elias Kachunga with the visitors 1-0 up.
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Hide Ad"We wish he had less dangerous chances to deal with," admitted Bielsa.
"But today he [Casilla] had a great impact on the result.
"Two important things for a goalkeeper, don't make mistakes and try and make important saves.
"And this season he is fulfilling those two needs."
Leeds failed to register a shot on target in the first half and the United manager felt his side could have won by greater margin.
Karlan Grant looked to have pulled one back late on as did Matt Daly but their respective efforts went just past the post.
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Hide AdBielsa said: "In the first half we should have created more chances. We had some opportunities to score but couldn't finish it very well.
"And especially in the second half, we defended set pieces badly. Our first goal made it easier to develop the play in the second half.
"And we could have scored more goals but we could have conceded as well."
Whites captain Liam Cooper missed Saturday's clash with a calf injury and is unlikely to return for Leeds' home clash with Hull City on Tuesday night.
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Hide AdAlthough Bielsa is hopeful that the centre-back could be fit for the visit of Cardiff City next weekend.
He said: "We don't know, today it would have been a risk for him to play.
"But he doesn't think this situation is going to change on Tuesday.
"So we are going to see the possibility of him playing next Saturday."
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Hide AdLeeds will remain top of the table heading into Tuesday night's home game if West Brom fail to beat Swansea City tomorrow afternoon.
And Huddersfield Town chief Danny Cowley believes that the Whites will be promoted to the Premier League this season.
He said: "They won't fall short this season. Marcelo Bielsa is an intelligent manager.
"He will have realised the reasons that they came up short last year. And he will understand this league much better.
"They are in a very strong position."