Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has praised Ian Poveda after the winger enjoyed a decent debut in what was an otherwise disappointing day for the side against Cardiff City yesterday.

The 20-year-old signed for the Yorkshire outfit in January but he has barely been seen since, with the player only making the bench twice prior to the lockdown and he failed to get any minutes on the pitch. However, he was given his debut in Wales, coming on as a sub for Helder Costs in the 77th minute of the 2-0 defeat.

Whilst Poveda couldn't help Leeds get anything from the game, he was an undoubted bright spot, impressing with his close control and desire to run at the Bluebirds defence.

And, speaking to Leeds Live after the game, Bielsa gave a positive assessment of the youngster after his first outing.

"The minute he play, even if he didn’t imbalance his side, he made some contribution to the play. If you consider the kind of match we were playing, with the opponent too close to their own box, it’s more difficult to attack in those conditions, but he has some good capacity to adapt himself to reduced spaces. He is an agile player."

The verdict

There's no denying that yesterday was a hugely frustrating afternoon for Leeds as it was a game that they really shouldn't have lost and ultimately individual errors cost them.

From an attacking perspective, there were few positives as well but Poveda did impress when he came on.

It will have given Bielsa food for thought ahead of the massive game against Fulham and the challenge for the wide man will be to take any other opportunities that come his way.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.