Marcelo Bielsa heaped praise on Pablo Hernandez after the experienced playmaker inspired Leeds to a crucial 3-2 victory over Millwall at Elland Road.
Hernandez was surprisingly overlooked for the Championship team of the season this week and he responded with another sublime performance to fire Bielsa’s side back into the automatic promotion places.
The Spaniard’s brace took his tally to 12 goals – in addition to 11 assists – and left Bielsa in no doubt about his talismanic qualities.
“Pablo is a leader,” said the former Argentina and Chile coach.
“He’s not a leader that likes to talk a lot but he is the one who usually asks for the ball and tries to take risks that are usually hard for the players.
“Pablo is someone who gives the opportunity to change a normal attack to one where you can create a chance.
“He lifts the team and the fans too. He is someone who gives us the feeling we can hurt the opponent all the time.”
Millwall played their part in a thrilling contest, twice taking the lead through Ben Thompson’s header and Ben Marshall’s penalty.
But Leeds have had a habit of coming from behind this term and they did so again with Hernandez scoring either side of Luke Ayling to send the home fans wild with delight.
“Some days we have to spend more time than we usually would need to spend to get what we deserve,” said Bielsa, whose team also missed a penalty when Patrick Bamford fluffed his lines.
“We never feel we are going to lose. We insist on trying to change the result by keeping our style. When a team has the skill to overcome so much adversity, they deserve admiration.”
The biggest cheer of the day came at full-time when Sheffield United’s home defeat by Bristol City was announced, a result which leaves Leeds two points clear of the Blades.
But Bielsa insisted he is only focused on his side, stating: “Every game we play we can’t be thinking about the result of any other team.”
The defeat meant Millwall remain a solitary point above the relegation zone but boss Neil Harris was encouraged by the performance.
“It was probably a fair result on possession and chances created,” he said.
“We were leading twice in the game and for us to come to Elland Road, it was a good performance in so many ways.
“We can talk about how good we were on the counter-attack, with the ball, how well we defended at times and stood strong at a sold-out Elland Road, but ultimately we got nothing from the game.
“Leeds are a top side and we ran them very close today.”
