Leeds United Farkeball turning point and the right recipe — Graham Smyth's Chelsea Verdict — YEP 4/12/25

By Graham Smyth

What Leeds United produced in their win over Chelsea proved that the fans and Daniel Farke can have their cake and eat it.

Mood swings are all the rage in football but there was nothing flaky about the rage and concern that was building around Farke and his job security at Elland Road. Performance levels had dropped, at least on the road, they were conceding the same goal repeatedly and most importantly of all they were losing games. Regardless of how deserved the individual results were or were not, three points from a possible 21 is relegation form in anyone's book.

A three-game stretch against Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool therefore took on the most daunting, unappealing look for a manager in the firing line. So his side had to come out firing. At City they did, eventually. It took a half-time intervention from the manager and a 3-5-2 formation that Pep Guardiola's men really struggled to get to grips with. Leeds lost that game but the way they went about their business in the second half whet the appetite of the fanbase for more of the same.

Even after Farke's pre-game press conference it was a matter of debate whether or not he would serve up the 3-5-2 and direct gameplan that the masses were so hungry to see. He kept everyone guessing right up until 7pm when the team sheet landed. Farke made four changes in order to position his players in the system that looked so well suited to their individual and collective profiles in the second half at City. Jaka Bijol's return to the line-up completed a three-man central defensive unit. Gabriel Gudmundsson took the left wing-back role. Anton Stach, freshly recovered from a concussion, replaced Ilia Gruev in the midfield. And up top Dominic Calvert-Lewin partnered Lukas Nmecha.

What followed was beautiful, brutal chaos. Leeds signalled their intention to go direct from kick-off and put it right on Chelsea. For the first five minutes crosses and long throws went into the visitors' box and when the Blues briefly had the ball they were pressed within an inch of their lives. It wasn't just route one stuff, Gabriel Gudmundsson bombed forward to whip in a dangerous cross and Dominic Calvert-Lewin made it to the byline to tee up Ao Tanaka for a shot that went wide.

Leeds United reward themselves for fast start

All the momentum was with the hosts. And when you have a moment against a very good team you have to make it count. Stach, who was denied by a pair of vital blocks on the edge of the box, swung in the perfect corner delivery and Bijol made a near post run to smash a header into the net. For a team who have toiled without rewarding themselves so often this season it was the perfect start.

It was never going to be one-way traffic in Leeds' favour but the aggression with which they met Chelsea dulled any danger of an immediate response to the opener. Bijol was dishing out punishment to Liam Delap, Ethan Ampadu was throwing himself into just-about legal challenges, Jayden Bogle was getting a rise out of Marc Cucurella and Leeds were disciplined in their positioning.

When possible, the hosts broke quickly, getting the ball forward with urgency. They were dangerous, too. More dangerous than Chelsea by far. Another Stach corner found Pascal Struijk and he headed wide a glorious chance to double the lead. A quality counter attack ended with Stach laying it back to Tanaka who was again wayward, this time off his left foot.

Even when Chelsea finally mustered a shot - Estevao's deflected off-target effort - and earned their first corner, Leeds broke from it and caused panic. Stach was central to so much of the action, with or without the ball. He intercepted a pass, backed himself and charged forward for a shot that was deflected wide, then sprinted back to wipe out Cucurella as Chelsea broke from the German's corner.

Chelsea's growing frustration was never more evident than when Gudmundsson stripped Estevao of the ball with a physical challenge and ran away from the winger, only to be kicked to the ground from behind. His yellow card was the least of their worries because they were soon two goals behind. Nmecha won the ball high up the pitch, Bogle stepped inside to feed Tanaka and he took one touch then rifled a shot beyond the dive of Sanchez. It was a strike of brutality and beauty.

More of the same after half-time

Though Enzo Maresca made a double change at the break, it was not immediately obvious that the game itself would change. In fact Leeds could have gone three up. Stach whipped in a cross, Nmecha met it and failed to guide it far enough away from Sanchez who made the stop.

It was then that Chelsea showed how easy it can be to convert territory and possession into goals, when you have top drawer quality. Leeds lost the ball high up on the left and in the blink of an eye it was deep in their half. Bogle was beaten by Jamie Gittens and his cross was tucked in at the back post by one of Chelsea's half-time replacements, Pedro Neto.

If Leeds were at all ruffled by the goal they failed to show it. They stuck to the plan, sitting deep, countering when possible and treating Chelsea with minimal respect. Just about every 50:50 challenge was won by a man in a white shirt. Struijk flew into two big tackles, Tanaka followed up with another, Bogle fired in a cross and though Nmecha stuck in the loose ball after Calvert-Lewin's aerial challenge they were both flagged offside. Nmecha tracked all the way back to his own corner flag, sent the ball long to his strike partner and when he won it, Tanaka was able to free Bogle whose mazy run was only halted in the area. Physical, direct football but with no little class. Ampadu in particular relished both sides of the game, running Chelsea ragged whether he had the ball or was hunting it.

There were chances for Chelsea, they were always going to create chances but even when the normally ice cold Cole Palmer got on the ball in the area the finish was lukewarm at best. And with the blueprint working a treat, Leeds never strayed from it. Their third goal typified their entire approach. Playing on the front foot, Struijk drove them forward, Gudmundsson took over and then when the ball was lost Noah Okafor pressed and pressed again, forcing an error, sliding in to beat Sanchez to the ball and presenting Calvert-Lewin with a tap in. As goals go it was ugly as sin from a Chelsea point of view and heavenly for Leeds.

What this game showed was that playing direct can still be fun and it can still look good. Farke is a ball-hungry manager yet with just 29 per cent of the possession his team were brutally clinical. It was still Farkeball with full-backs popping up in attacking positions, centre-backs playing passes into feet and clever interplay between attackers and midfielders, but it was an iron fist in a velvet glove. Winning the physical battle and then playing pretty stuff on the counter. The three-man defence mopped up most things that came their way in the area and when it was time to sit in and dig in, Leeds did. When the ball went up top it was never to an isolated lone striker. Calvert-Lewin used properly - one part battering ram, one part platform builder, with Nmecha providing intelligent company.

Leeds have performed well at Elland Road this season, perhaps not this well but they have looked good and yet on too many occasions failed to get a result. To put it all together and win so comprehensively against world champions Chelsea could be a genuine turning point in what is still going to be a difficult season. It might even be the start of a new chapter in Farke's relationship with the supporters. This kind of football should be served up again and again because it is a recipe for survival. Tomorrow can look after itself though, when today tastes this good.