Leeds United lessons learned from Burnley as key decision backfires and damning stat emerges — YEP 19/10/24
By Kyle Newbould
The YEP reflects on key takeaways from Leeds United’s
disappointing defeat at Turf Moor.
Leeds United returned from the international break with a
painful bump following their 2-0 defeat at Burnley on Saturday. Goals either
side of half-time from Lesley Ugochukwu and substitute Loum Tchaouna condemned
Daniel Farke’s side to a fourth league loss of the campaign on what proved a
miserable afternoon for those travelling.
Leeds dominated possession but rarely tested their hosts,
with concerns over attacking quality once again raised amid injuries to Noah
Okafor and Willy Gnonto. Defeat leaves the Whites slipping towards the
relegation battle they expected to be in and as the dust settles, the YEP looks
at a few key takeaways from Turf Moor.
Daniel Farke’s big selection call backfires
The big pre-match debate was focused on centre-back,
specifically if Jaka Bijol should replace Pascal Struijk who while far from
terrible, could have done better with recent goals conceded against Bournemouth
and Tottenham Hotspur. Farke stuck with the latter but two very avoidable goals
would suggest a change of personnel might have helped, even if the fault was
not only Struijk’s.
Anton Stach was largely to blame for letting Ugochukwu drift
into the penalty area unmarked but might Bijol, one of Europe’s best box
defenders last season, have spotted the danger to head away? Possibly. And
while Tchaouna’s 25-yard rocket was a moment of brilliance, the chance arose
from Struijk’s loose ball, while both he and Ethan Ampadu could have gotten a
little closer to the winger as he wound up to shoot.
Leeds United making life hard for themselves
Another game, another slow start, another early concession.
There were a multitude of small errors in the build-up to Ugochukwu’s opener
that all added up to a very avoidable goal, from Karl Darlow booting it out of
play to Jack Harrison being left two-v-one out wide. Leeds have now given away
the opening goal in all of their last five and six of their last seven,
conceding four times in the opening 30 minutes while scoring zero.
That statistically makes Leeds the Premier League’s worst
team inside the opening 30 minutes, with an aggregate score of 4-0 in that time
period a bigger deficit than anyone else. Top-flight defences are hard enough
to break down at the best of times, but Farke’s side are allowing opponents to
sit in and defend, which goes some way to explaining why they might dominate
possession and record a higher Expected Goals, with Burnley perfectly happy to
defend their lead on Saturday.
Chances missed again as Leeds wastefulness rued
With chances rare and Burnley sitting tight, Leeds simply
had to take what openings fell their way but another afternoon of wasteful
finishing ensured defeat. If Aaronson puts the ball either side of Martin
Dubravka at 1-0, the game is a different one. Equally, if Jack Harrison or
Jayden Bogle find the net after half-time, there’s no reason why Farke’s side
can’t get something.
But they all fell short, and the few openings Farke’s side
forged came to nothing. Admittedly Leeds were hamstrung by injuries to Okafor
and Gnonto, while James wasn’t fit enough to start, but neither Aaronson nor
Harrison have provided evidence they can offer the attacking quality needed to
survive in the Premier League.
Attacking gameplan is simple - but it is there
The situation of the game will no doubt have played its
part, but Leeds were intent on trying to get good quality crosses into the box
on Saturday in a bid to bring Dominic Calvert-Lewin into things. In fact,
according to Opta’s Jonny Cooper via X, their 47 crosses were the most by a
Premier League team this season and the highest number Leeds have produced in a
league game for over five years.
It’s how they equalised against Wolves last month before
going on to win 3-1, and how they cancelled out openers from Spurs and
Bournemouth too. Crosses from all angles play to Calvert-Lewin’s strengths.
Burnley defended their box admirably on Saturday and chances were missed, but
there is at least a blueprint that should work often enough with the players on
hand.
