Marcelo Bielsa has defended Mateusz Klich after the midfielder suffered online abuse from some Leeds fans because of the penalty he conceded for Chelsea ’s stoppage-time winner.
Klich was targeted because his foul on Antonio Rudiger cost Leeds a much-needed point at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and he has de-activated his Twitter account.
The Poland midfielder had already been criticised on social media by some supporters for his displays this season and Bielsa claims every player makes mistakes.
“Football is a game that contains errors,” said the Leeds boss. “Imagine football without the possibility of making mistakes, it would take away this element, which is needed in a creative game.
“Nobody wants to make errors, everybody always combines prudence with the capacity to try and avoid them.
“If you look at all the goals that were scored at the weekend, it would be very hard not to find one where it could have been avoided.”
Leeds’ last-gasp defeat at Chelsea means Bielsa’s injury-ravaged side have won just one of their last six league games ahead of Tuesday’s daunting trip to champions Manchester City.
One rare positive for Leeds was 19-year-old striker Joe Gelhardt scoring his first senior goal against Chelsea after coming on as a substitute.
The rookie became the first teenager since James Milner in 2002 to score in the Premier League for Leeds and the club have high hopes for the former Wigan forward.
Gelhardt could see more action over the festive period with Leeds missing their main strikers Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo and Bielsa says he must manage him carefully.
“For a player, young or not, to score a goal always improves their self-esteem,” he said.
“It all depends on the needs of the team and how we value his resources.
“He’s a player who has got resources we can take advantage of and the needs of the team will show if we need an attacker to participate, especially when he shows efficiency.”
Leeds’ 10-men earned a famous win at the Etihad in April and Bielsa claims they believe they can record another positive result.
“Every game we make a lot of effort to win,” he said. “Sometimes it’s possible and other times it isn’t.
“But we have a lot of hope that we can obtain what we desire and that is points on the board.”
