Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa had no complaints about Burnley’s combative approach after his side’s 1-1 draw at Turf Moor.
Patrick Bamford turned home a late equaliser for Leeds after their former striker Chris Wood had given Burnley a second-half lead.
The Clarets, who had four players booked by referee Michael Oliver, were intent on winning all their physical battles as they chased their first points of the season. Leeds received three yellow cards of their own.
When asked if he had been concerned for his players, Bielsa said : “No, I thought it was a very heated game but not any more than that.
“It was a very disputed game and it was a very physical game.”
Jurgen Klopp questioned Burnley’s full-blooded style after Liverpool had beaten them 2-0 at Anfield last week, but Bielsa refused to criticise Sean Dyche’s side.
It was suggested after Leeds had secured their second Premier League point of the season at Turf Moor that they had been wasteful in possession.
But Bielsa added: “In the virtues that I mentioned of Burnley, they provoked errors and took advantage of them.
“You link that more to something bad that we did rather than the virtues of our opponent.”
Wood deflected home Matt Lowton’s shot from close range to give Burnley a 61st-minute lead, before Bamford struck with a similarly scruffy finish from a rebound in the closing stages.
Wood’s effort was a landmark goal as the Premier League quickly announced on social media that it was the 30,000th scored in the competition.
Landmark #PL goals!— Premier League (@premierleague) August 29, 2021
The Clarets centre-forward felt his side were unlucky not to have held on for all three points.
“It’s a little bit disappointing, just in the way, going up and then conceding late on,” Wood told Burnley’s official website.
“It’s a bit of a kick in the teeth. That’s life. I think we’ve done extremely well. The team was fantastic.
“I don’t know if we deserved the win, but I thought we ground it out making ourselves a good option for a win.”
Wood, sold by Leeds to Burnley for £15million in 2017, said the Clarets’ produced one of their their best displays of the season against his old club.
“I thought we were good in our own footballing ability, we were strong, compact and solid at the back,” the New Zealander added.
“We created going forward, creating a good handful of chances. On another day they drop in a certain way and go in.
“We were fantastic, we were good. I think that’s one of our better performances. I think all of our performances have been good, but just haven’t given us the results.”
