Leeds United lessons learned from West Ham as Daniel Farke decision pays off with solid Premier League debut — YEP 25/10/25
By Kyle Newbould
The YEP looks at a handful of key talking points from Leeds
United's 2-1 win over West Ham.
Leeds United got another vital three points on the board
after beating West Ham 2-1 on Friday night. Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon were
both on the scoresheet for Daniel Farke’s side, who came flying out the blocks
to exploit their struggling visitors’ weaknesses.
Mateus Fernandes pulled one back for West Ham late on but
after defending well for much of the second half, Leeds were able to see out
the game and take all three points. And the YEP has taken a look at some of the
evening’s key talking points below.
Daniel Farke rings the changes
After insisting he would not make changes to his team ‘for
the sake of it’ last week, Farke clearly decided there was justification for a
switch up with four new names on the teamsheet. A change in each of goalkeeper,
defence, midfield and attack was - by design or coincidence - enough to freshen
things up without a Sheffield Wednesday-style disjointed performance.
And credit to Farke for making those changes, all of which
proved to be effective with Lucas Perri, Jaka Bijol, Ao Tanaka and Noah Okafor
all impressing in parts. It’s certainly a strength of Leeds that all four were
able to come in without any discernible drop in quality - something West Ham
could only dream of at the minute.
Leeds United’s fast start harnessed
Not since Everton on the opening weekend had Leeds scored
first in a Premier League game and with that being an 84th-minute penalty,
Friday was the first time Farke’s side rewarded themselves with an early lead.
West Ham helped, looking for large parts like a deer caught in the Elland Road
floodlights, but early chances were taken and it made a massive difference.
Leeds’ record when scoring first under Farke is excellent
and especially at home, taking an early advantage ensures Elland Road is
fervent and fearsome, making it one of their most dangerous weapons. It also
allows the Whites to absorb pressure and attack into space, making it no
coincidence Aaronson enjoyed one of his best performances in a long time.
A proper look at Jaka Bijol
Leeds fans might consider they hadn’t seen the real Jaka
Bijol yet, given his difficult debut at Sheffield Wednesday came on a night in
which everyone struggled, but Friday was the Slovenian in a nutshell. The
gigantic defender was everywhere and no one on the pitch made more than his 15
defensive contributions - a combination of clearances, blocks, interceptions
and tackles.
It was not a perfect performance. Bijol was sometimes overly
aggressive and gave away potentially dangerous free-kicks, while Callum Wilson
was able to pin him back sometimes. But as Premier League debuts go, it was a
very solid one and with the Slovenian and Rodon at centre-back, Leeds look
really happy to absorb pressure.
Roles reversed from Burnley
West Ham will take little comfort from their second-half
‘dominance’ - which is in inverted commas because they were kept largely at
arm’s length by Leeds. Like Turf Moor last weekend, the away side had plenty of
ball but created little, with their hosts holding shape, keeping things tight
and defending their box with relative ease.
Leeds have been one of the Premier League’s best defences
this season in terms of Expected Goals conceded, and looked every bit the
sturdy backline as Rodon and Bijol headed everything away, with Perri on hand
to claim anything else. It’s a really promising sign and a nice change for
Elland Road match-goers, who have seen mostly defensive chaos during previous
top-flight campaigns.
Woeful West Ham
When Leeds, Sunderland and Burnley came up, it was difficult
to see which established Premier League teams they could realistically look to
finish above. It’s becoming a lot clearer there are genuinely poor teams in
this division, teams that can be beaten and don’t look like beating many - and
West Ham are certainly one of them.
