Leeds United's huge reward for bold calls — Graham Smyth's Fulham and survival Verdict — YEP 18/1/26

By Graham Smyth

A win was there for the taking for Daniel Farke's Leeds United against Fulham and because he sensed it, they got it. Now survival can be too.

Fulham are no joke. A little streaky at times so far in this campaign but a very good Premier League side who brought a six-game unbeaten run to Elland Road with them. Even without their AFCON players and big characters like Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi, this was an excellent team and an excellent manager coming to Leeds full of confidence and ability.

Beating such an outfit would be a feather in Leeds' cap no matter the wider context, yet the loss on Friday of key players Jaka Bijol and Anton Stach made victory more improbable and therefore all the more impressive. And Farke had big calls to make. Who to bring into the back line was a big decision in itself, but far from his biggest. Deciding to stick with Karl Darlow in goal, essentially dropping Lucas Perri over two high profile errors, was a huge call for the manager to make. Perri was signed to be the starting keeper for this team, good money was spent on him. Farke showed much more patience with Ilan Meslier last season, yet evidently with newly-promoted status comes a different set of rules and a necessary ruthlessness.

In Darlow Leeds have a goalkeeper who did all the right things when he replaced Meslier for the promotion run-in. This season when Perri was out he did well, too, especially at Fulham where he produced three outstanding saves.

The Wales international was given a nice comfortable start to this one because Leeds were largely in control early on, if not in possession then dealing with Fulham's long balls over the top and attempts to get in behind. Gabriel Gudmundsson in particular did brilliantly to get his body in on Ryan Sessegnon and turn potential danger into a safe back pass. There was an intake of breath when a ball dropped between Joe Rodon and the keeper but they got on the same page in time to sort it.

As the first half went on Leeds grew stronger and more assured. They swarmed Fulham when the moment was right to press, as they did so effectively against Chelsea and others, and it caused problems. When they won the ball they attacked quickly and that brought opportunities. There was a series of half chances, before one golden one. Noah Okafor got the chance to run at Fulham in a wide position on the left once or twice, getting chances to deliver crosses - which he did quite dangerously on one occasion - and chances to shoot - which he did poorly. One effort, when the ball dropped to him in the area, was especially wild and wayward.

That miss was nothing compared with the one Brenden Aaronson was guilty of. The American had been ratting around, annoying Fulham, winning the ball and frustrating their attempts to take it off him. And his boundless energy took him into a great position when Jayden Bogle lobbed the ball over the backline to put Aaronson in on goal, only for his half-volley attempt to find the South Stand.

In that spell Leeds had their tails up and the crowd was into it. Fulham looked poor. Leeds either beat them to the punch in duels or were too quick-footed, which led to a pair of yellows in quick succession and then one for Silva for his protests. It was Leeds who had most to complain about to the officials in the first half however. Sasa Lukic kicked the ball away, on a yellow, and it went unpunished. Ethan Ampadu clearly believed the whistle had gone for a Fulham offside and retrieved the ball, throwing it into his own half, only to realise his mistake as a yellow card came out.

With that little bit of luck going Fulham's way and a lack of invention in the home side's build-up play, Leeds first half superiority sort of fizzled out. Fulham did enough to quieten their hosts, the crowd and quell the spell of pressure. No matter how well Leeds play, even at home, very good Premier League sides are going to have their moments and Fulham could say that as they went down the tunnel, albeit without troubling Darlow.

The second half was a different matter. If Elland Road was in danger of drifting out of it, summer transfer target Harry Wilson invited an atmosphere that was never going to help his side. Gudmundsson had already threatened Fulham down the left in the second half when Gruev sent him away on the counter again. The left wing-back was haring towards the box when Wilson took the decision to take him out and take a yellow.

Amid the ensuing din, Leeds began to create again. Aaronson's excellent cross was turned just wide of the near post by Dominic Calvert-Lewin then Okafor's lovely reverse pass put Gudmundsson in on goal only for the shot to miss at the near post. James Justin, brought in to play centre-back out of possession and full-back with it, shot straight at Bernd Leno after a slick give-and-go.

Beyond a Darlow header that fell kindly to Emile Smith-Rowe, but not so kindly that he could direct it on goal, Fulham were not getting a sniff. But Farke smelled blood. On came Willy Gnonto for the tiring Okafor. The Italian's lay off gave Calvert-Lewin a shooting chance from distance that was too central. Farke went for the kill. On came Ao Tanaka and Lukas Nmecha for Gruev and Bogle. It could be interpreted as nothing else but an attacking change and a sense that Fulham were there for the taking.

They were. Leeds just couldn't find the kill shot, at first. Set-piece opportunities came and went. Nmecha flashed d a Justin corner past the near post. Undeterred, they kept at it. If there was to be a winner, even as four minutes of added time were signalled, it was going to be the men in white.

The stadium announcer was still informing the crowd of the time the referee had decided to add on when Ampadu, Leeds' defensive midfield enforcer, sensed a chance to run into space on the right to take a pass from Tanaka. His cross was perfect and Nmecha's finish was somehow better, stretching to hook a volley into the far corner of the net.

That it came late did nothing to lessen how deserved the winner was. At the death, with a creditable point almost in the bag, Aaronson was still scrapping to get a toe on everything, Leeds were putting bodies forward and Ampadu was settling for nothing less than three points. And a team that earlier in the season was struggling to reward themselves for performances got exactly what they deserved.

West Ham also got themselves a late winner, but moved no closer to Leeds. A great result against Spurs followed by a demoralising look at the table. The eight point gap remains and though it is far from the chasm Farke would like to open up, it is significant. Leeds now require three wins and four draws to reach 38 points, a tally that would be difficult for West Ham to achieve, harder still for Burnley and all-but impossible for Wolves. Being as good as they have been at home and with so many winnable games to come at Elland Road, Leeds should be sniffing blood. Farke will not let them look at anything but the next game, the Premier League experience of Calvert-Lewin, Sean Longstaff, James Justin and the leadership of Ampadu, Struijk and Joe Rodon will reinforce the manager's message and enforce it among the squad. But with a sense of how much they seem to belong in this division and how strong a position they have earned, they can go after what they want and take it.