Marcelo Bielsa insists that the reason a club “like Chelsea so fearful is for the four positions in attack”, commending his Leeds side after they showed an “enormous effort” to hold the Blues to a draw.

The west London club carved out several openings at Elland Road, with Illan Meslier repelling all that came his way. However, it was their keeper Edouard Mendy who made two outstanding saves to keep Leeds at bay.

Asked if he was happy with a draw, Bielsa admitted his side had their work cut out to earn the point.

“Evidently, we played against a team superior to ours,” Bielsa said. “In the second half especially, in the first half less. We did what was necessary to play a balanced game.

“At the end of the game, the chances of both teams were similar. It’s true the superiority they showed in the first half was superior to what we showed in the second half. To play a game like we did, we had to make an enormous effort.

Bielsa was asked if the result was more pleasing for Leeds given the strength of the opposition. And the Argentine had plenty of praise for the threat that Thomas Tuchel’s side pose.

“What makes a team like Chelsea so fearful is for the four positions in attack, the two wide men, striker and one behind – they are able to count on two players for each position,” he said.

“The most difficult thing in football is positions in attack. Not easy to face these teams.

“We made a big, big effort so the game would not become unbalanced. It was a slight domination from us in the second half. More clear dominance from them in the first. Offensive production of each team was similar.

“Difficult to achieve. If you take for example the last game they played, first proper chance they conceded in that game was the 90th minute. For us, to have provoked five or six is very good.”