Despite being one of the first names in the sheet for Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United, Kalvin Phillips often finds himself at the end of criticism, especially when he plays for England, with his lack of forward passing being one of the major bone of contention.
Though, as much as Phillips likes to keep it tight from the defensive midfield position, he showed that he possesses the vision to pick out forward runs as he did with a sumptuous 81st-minute pass for Phil Foden last night.
The Whites player played the full 90 minutes and did his job impeccably during England’s 5-0 World Cup Qualifier win against San Marino at Wembley.
With Leeds, Phillips could be seen spraying passes much more often as Bielsa’s free-flowing formation provides him with opportunities he rarely finds under a Gareth Southgate team, where the forward players are much more narrow.
Though, when the moment did arise, Phillips didn’t disappoint as he picked out Foden with a masterful long-range lofted ball last night –
Kalvin Phillips “dOesNt pAss fOrWarD” pic.twitter.com/y5mhujwXJF
— Luke Naylor (@lukechunknaylor) March 25, 2021