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Oscar Haley

Diego Llorente's verdict on Leeds United's 'very demanding' Premier League relegation fight

Diego Llorente has called Leeds United's recent Premier League campaign "very demanding" after the Whites managed to secure survival on the final day of the season. A 2-1 win over Brentford coupled with Newcastle United's win over Burnley saw Leeds survive on the final day to secure them another season in the Premier League.

Llorente played a key role in helping Leeds save their season in their penultimate game against Brighton & Hove Albion. Jesse Marsch's side needed a positive result against the Seagulls in order to climb out of the bottom three. Burnley, their relegations rivals still had a game in hand over the Whites which meant points were at a premium.

With time running out, Llorente showed supreme composure to clip a ball into the path of striker Joe Gelhardt in stoppage time. The forward then produced a supreme bit of skill to jink past Brighton defender Lewis Dunk to deliver a cross into the path of Pascal Struijk who converted the easiest of back post headers.

GO HERE: Take our BIG post season survey after a dramatic season at Elland Road

From there, they went on to beat Brentford the following weekend to ensure Elland Road would see Premier League football next season. The 2021/22 campaign was not without it's challenges for Llorente and co. Leeds were besotted with injuries throughout the season and also had to deal with the departure of legendary coach Marcelo Bielsa, who was sacked in February.

And in a recent interview with Spanish newspaper SPORT while he is away on international duty, Llorente revealed his thoughts on the punishing season.

"It has been very demanding," Llorente told SPORT.

"Last season was spectacular and we looked more up than down. In this one, football has these things, with many adversities, injuries... It has been very atypical.

"For those of us who are in the day to day, turning the situation around and achieving the goal shows that we never gave up."

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