Mighty Leeds Weblog

Up 4 the cup Words by: Chris McMenamy The last time Daniel Farke took Leeds United to St Andrew’s, he was only six weeks into his tenure and already looked worn out. Wilf Gnonto had gone on strike, relegation loan clauses kept popping up out of the woodwork and a weak Leeds side lost 1-0 to an injury-time penalty. Things are much better in LS11 right now, yet still Farke looked like he’d been through the ringer as Leeds held on for penalties against Championship side Birmingham City. There’s nothing quite like Leeds United to make you feel alive and angry on a sleepy Sunday lunchtime. The FA Cup fourth round is often where Leeds’ dreams of Wembley go to die — when they actually make it that far — so a trip to Birmingham failed to evoke any real emotion among the fanbase except the 5,500 travelling diehards. I was relatively relaxed about this game, happy to have a cup run but swearing I wouldn’t throw a tantrum if Leeds did what they tend to do in cup ties. Then Leeds decided t...

By Graham Smyth The YEP’s take on off-camera moments from Leeds United’s victory after penalties at Birmingham City. Leeds United's performance at Birmingham City was one to forget but there was at least an element of redemption as they made it through to the FA Cup fifth round. The Blues welcomed the Whites to St Andrew’s with aggression and endeavour and the Championship side can look back on this cup tie with a large amount of frustration and regret. A famous win was there for the taking thanks to the way they took the game to Daniel Farke's men. But if you don't take your chances it can come back to bite you, and it did in the penalty shootout. Here's the YEP take. Good day Lucas Perri The Brazilian's time in England so far has been difficult, to put it mildly. Roles have been dramatically reversed because not long ago Karl Darlow was the FA Cup keeper and Perri the main man. It's the other way around now, but Perri gave a much better account o...

By Graham Smyth The Verdict on Leeds United’s huge FA Cup fright at Birmingham City in the face of six Whites changes is in. What lies beyond the fifth round of the FA Cup is a bit of a mystery to younger Leeds United fans, so long has it been that the Whites graced that stage of the competition. Not since 2003 have Leeds gone further than the fifth round and the evidence of their Premier League season so far, particularly at home, says there is no real reason why they cannot break that miserable streak. But if they are to turn a cup run into a real adventure there can be no repeat of the fourth round performance at Birmingham City because what lies beneath the first-choice team did not show up. Sean Longstaff's reaction to his tie-winning penalty at the end of a near-perfect shootout for the visitors was almost apologetic. While team-mates huddled around goalkeeper Lucas Perri and celebrated in front of the away end, the Premier League veteran simply turned and walked ...

By Graham Smyth Daniel Farke saw his Leeds United side taken all the way to penalties before sealing FA Cup progression at Birmingham City. Leeds United boss Daniel Farke was delighted with Lucas Perri's role in an FA Cup win at Birmingham City but says the keeper still has some recovering to do after recent difficulties. Perri pulled off a superb first half save to keep the score 0-0 as Championship Birmingham put their Premier League visitors under the cosh. Lukas Nmecha's opener was cancelled out by a deflected Patrick Roberts strike in the 89th minute and after extra-time failed to separate the sides, Perri came up big in the shootout. The Brazilian, who according to team-mate Lukas Nmecha had difficulty reading the opposition shirt numbers as he prepared to face the opening two spot-kicks, was twice sent the wrong way. But he guessed right to palm away Tommy Doyle's effort and then Patrick Roberts missed entirely, leaving Sean Longstaff to put Leeds in the fi...

By Kyle Newbould Lucas Perri played his part in Leeds United’s thrilling FA Cup fourth-round win at Birmingham City. Leeds United’s match-winning goalkeeper Lucas Perri hopes to build on an impressive performance in Saturday’s FA Cup penalty-shootout victory over Birmingham City. Perri’s start to life at Leeds following his £16million move from Lyon has been mixed, with the Brazilian producing good saves but also falling guilty of some costly errors. Manager Daniel Farke publicly criticised the goalkeeper last month before replacing him as first-choice with Karl Darlow. An FA Cup trip to Birmingham offered Perri the chance to get back in the groove and with Leeds a long way from their best, he was regularly tested. A first-half save from Jay Stansfield was outstanding and there was little he could do when Patrick Roberts’ deflected strike cancelled out Lukas Nmecha’s opener. After a chaotic extra-time period, the game went to penalties and Perri contributed again, brilliantly...

By Stuart Rayner Leeds United planned to take it easy on their Sunday afternoon in the second city but ended up having to work overtime against Birmingham City, only reaching the FA Cup fifth round after a penalty shoot-out. But at least all the extra effort did not go to waste, with Joel Piroe, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Sean Longstaff – all of whom missed spot kicks against Sheffield Wednesday when Leeds went out of the League Cup in August finding the net. With Lucas Perri saving from Tommy Doyle and Patrick Roberts clearing the crossbar either side of Brenden Aaronson scoring, the visitors won the shoot-out 4-2 after a 1-1 draw they only got because of Ibrahim Osman’s woeful finishing. Drawn against Championship opposition, the plan was to take it easy with some of those Leeds have leant on so heavily in this Premier League, but it was not how it played out. The tie was only the fifth club game Ampadu – a regular for Wales too – had not started this season. You often not...

Birmingham 1-1 Leeds: Daniel Farke challenges his side to become club legends by winning the FA Cup after surviving a scare at St Andrews By TOM COLLOMOSSE This was a day to remember that plenty of officials can make correct decisions without needing to be hooked up to their mates in a TV booth 100 miles away. The pro-VAR lobby have been loud and proud this weekend following a series of dodgy calls made by referees, with the technology not deployed during the third and fourth rounds of the FA Cup. Leeds United advanced to the fifth round here at the expense of Birmingham after the sides could not be separated during 120 thrilling minutes, mostly dominated by Blues. Against the run of play, Lukas Nmecha had given Leeds the lead early in the second half only for Patrick Roberts to force extra-time late on. With no further goals, Tommy Doyle and Roberts missed in the shoot-out and Leeds scored all four of their efforts to advance. They would also have been grateful for another pen...

By Lee Sobot Leeds United took on Birmingham City at St Andrew’s for a place in the FA Cup fifth round. Leeds United survived a first-half onslaught as part of an epic FA Cup tie at Birmingham City which ended with the Whites going through 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw after extra time. Leeds threatened inside three minutes as a direct run from Noah Okafor took him to the byline and near the left hand post, the winger blocked out for a corner which came to nothing. Birmingham, though, soon put the Whites under pressure, a firm drive from Jay Stansfield blocked out by Jaka Bijol for a corner from which Jhon Solis volleyed into the side netting at the far post. A dangerous ball into the box then needed booting clear by a busy Bijol and Birmingham were then denied by a brilliant save from keeper Lucas Perri to tip a rasping shot from Stansfield on to the crossbar, the forward controlling the ball on the edge of the box and sending in a thunderous effort which was flying into...

The credible hulk Words by: Chris McMenamy I’ve got some bad news for Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior — he’s been given the wrong copy of Premier League Rules for Dummies. Rosenior appeared in front of the TNT Sports cameras after Chelsea’s 2-2 draw at home to Leeds United, seething at Jayden Bogle, the Premier League and, for some reason, reporter Olivia Buzaglo for their conspiratorial cabal set on denying plucky little Chelsea a home win against newly promoted behemoths Leeds. “The rule is that if there is any contact with his hand it should be disallowed,” Rosenior told Buzaglo while moaning about Leeds’ slapstick equaliser at Stamford Bridge. “But I haven’t seen it back to make that judgement.” Rather than allow himself time to go back and watch it, Rosenior took heed of Buzaglo telling him that the commentary team said it was a “non-deliberate handball”, and it set the Chelsea manager off further. “The rule is the rule, from my understanding if there is any handball in the ...

By Graham Smyth Good day, bad day and off-camera moments from Leeds United's comeback draw at Chelsea. Leeds United's man of the moment had to overcome disappointment to come up with another huge contribution to the Premier League survival battle at Chelsea. The Whites fought back from two goals down against a rampant Blues side creating all kinds of problems at Stamford Bridge to secure a vital point. Lukas Nmecha's penalty was followed by Noah Okafor's tap-in as they maintained their six-point lead over West Ham United and overtook Spurs in the table. Here's the YEP take and what you may have missed. Good day: Noah Okafor. It must have come as a huge disappointment for the winger to discover he was not going to start after putting in his best-ever Leeds performance against Nottingham Forest. Daniel Farke felt defensive duties had to come first and Okafor needed a little longer to recover before starting again. But when he came on as a substitute he carri...

By Graham Smyth The Verdict on a brilliant comeback draw for Leeds United at Stamford Bridge. Leeds United owe it to absolutely no one to make sense in a Premier League survival campaign. Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior felt it was 'ridiculous' that his side could dominate all but a six-minute spell of the game at Stamford Bridge and still concede twice to draw 2-2. In a way he was right in saying that because creating 3.65 xG [Expected Goals] in itself suggests Chelsea should have won this game handily on home soil. They took 19 shots to Leeds' four. They accounted for more than twice the number of touches in the opposition penalty box than Leeds. Cole Palmer saw an empty net from a couple of yards out and missed. Most pertinently they went 2-0 up. That should have been that. Making it make sense was difficult at full-time, when the home manager struggled to explain how he was not talking about a victory and Daniel Farke was putting it down to the intangible quality of ...

Leeds United staged a stirring second-half fightback to snatch a point at high-flying Chelsea and keep their Premier League survival bid on track. Chelsea’s promising start to life under Liam Rosenior was derailed as Daniel Farke’s Leeds fought from two down to earn a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge and deny the Blues a fifth straight Premier League win. Until midway through the second half this had looked like being another step forward for a team who had been steadily growing into an exciting, watchable outfit under their new head coach. Joao Pedro got the opener with a lovely finish before Cole Palmer’s penalty made it two to have the hosts seemingly coasting to victory against a Leeds side who had offered next to nothing. Chelsea have looked newly confident in possession since Rosenior’s appointment but the manner in which they threw away two points was alarming. Lukas Nmecha’s penalty after Jayden Bogle had been fouled made it 2-1, then a moment of unbelievably casual defend...

By Lee Sobot Leeds United took on Chelsea in a Tuesday night Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge. Leeds United produced a brilliant comeback to stun Chelsea for the second time this season as Tuesday night’s Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge ended in a 2-2 draw. Daniel Farke’s Whites had to deal with a big fresh blow in being without striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin who missed the game due to illness, joining injured key pair Pascal Struijk and Anton Stach in being out. Farke’s side looked to be heading for an 11th defeat of the season as Chelsea raced into a 2-0 lead - helped by a poor call from Whites defender Jaka Bijol who pushed over Joao Pedro for a penalty that Cole Palmer converted. Leeds, though, with Bijol responding strongly, produced a brilliant fightback as a Lukas Nmecha penalty and Noah Okafor strike sealed a 2-2 draw which ended with an incredible miss from Palmer who missed an open goal by somehow firing over from a few yards out. The draw took Leeds...

By Graham Smyth The YEP’s take and off-camera moments from Leeds United’s 3-1 win against Nottingham Forest at Elland Road. Leeds United gave themselves and their fanbase a weekend off from the worries of a relegation battle thanks to a huge win over Nottingham Forest. Defeat at Elland Road was almost unthinkable given the difficulty of the next three games for the Whites, and the possible narrowing of the gap between themselves and West Ham United in the drop zone. So to win so handily against Sean Dyche's men on a Friday night was exactly what the doctor ordered for such an emotional football club. Here's the YEP take. Good day Daniel Farke The YEP was not alone in worrying that the midfield profile was too defensive for a must-win game at home. It turns out the man paid to manage Leeds United had it all in hand and knew what he was up to. What he got from Ilia Gruev in particular was a masterclass. Leeds were well worth their victory and could have romped it by...

By Graham Smyth The verdict on Leeds United’s mammoth victory over Nottingham Forest. Cake-obsessed Leeds United boss Daniel Farke is making a hell of a habit of dishing out the most delicious humble pie. It seems that when doubt is either creeping in around the German and his decision-making ability, or enshrouding the club completely when the pressure is cranked up to hellish levels, Farke is right at home. "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen," is one of his mantras when it comes to a job few would do with such relish, given all that comes with it. On a miserable Friday night at Elland Road, the heat was really on. Again. Once more Farke led his team into a game that was a must-win encounter, if everyone is being honest. No one likes to say that out loud, but regardless of the relative positions of Leeds and Nottingham Forest, the fixtures that lay beyond this one for Leeds are a classic case of the night being darkest before the dawn. Trips to...

By Tom Coates Nottingham Forest have made a habit of turning up during turbulent chapters in the recent history of Leeds United. In 2020, they put a lacklustre Leeds to the sword as the wheels were starting to come off the Championship promotion push in West Yorkshire. Three years later, Forest put the final nail in the coffin for Jesse Marsch as Leeds boss. Even as recently as November, they turned up the pressure on Daniel Farke in the midst of a dismal run. However, on a sodden Friday night at Elland Road, Forest turned up to face a Leeds side on an even footing with them - level on points and goal difference - and enjoying relative harmony. They also faced a Leeds side who have developed a rather handy habit of feeding on Elland Road energy when the floodlights are on. In a fast and furious display, goals from Jayden Bogle, Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin ensured Leeds emerged from the relegation battle six-pointer as 3-1 victors. Lorenzo Lucca netted for Forest l...