Leeds United cream rising as Daniel Farke's Plan B sends frightening statement of intent — Leeds Live 22/10/33
Leeds United's attacking might dug them out of a hole at Norwich City as the Whites came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Carrow Road
Daniel Farke had to roll the dice at Carrow Road. With his
Leeds United side trailing 2-1 as they entered the final 20 minutes of the
contest against his former club Norwich City, he made changes.
Bringing Sam Byram and Glen Kamara off, the manager threw on
Patrick Bamford and the fit again Wilfried Gnonto and changed the Whites' shape
from the 4-2-3-1 that he has used exclusively until that point of the season to
a 3-5-2, loaded with attacking talent most Championship sides could only dream
of possessing. It was a gamble and it left Leeds vulnerable on the counter at
times as the Canaries had their moments, but it paid off tenfold for the
German.
What followed was a show of attacking might that Norwich
simply could not live with in the final third of the pitch as Leeds turned
around the deficit and ensured they didn’t just leave East Anglia with a point,
but all three. In truth, United’s attacking movement and talent was a joy to
behold for much of the match.
Georginio Rutter, Joel Piroe, Dan James and Crysencio
Summerville had David Wagner’s defensive line on the back foot throughout the
first half of the contest. Clear cut chances came regularly, with Leeds getting
10 shots off before half-time, but only one worked goalkeeper Angus Gunn, with
the Whites proving to be frustratingly wasteful in front of goal, once again.
That’s rightly been a bugbear of Farke’s this season and he
made working on that a priority over the international break. The fruits of his
labour only became clear in the second half, though, with Leeds shooting on
sight and peppering replacement custodian George Long.
Chances fell to Rutter, Piroe, James, Ethan Ampadu and
Patrick Bamford after the break, but after Shane Duffy’s own goal, it was
Summerville who emerged as the star of the show. The Dutchman levelled the
contest at Carrow Road with a curling effort from the edge of the area, which
cannoned off the inside of Long’s post and in.
To their credit, Leeds continued to push for a winner rather
than settle for a draw, and when Rutter put Summerville away into the space,
the writing was on the wall. Carrying the ball from the halfway line, the
winger drove towards the box with pace and precision before drilling the ball
into the bottom corner of the Canaries’ net.
It was devastatingly clinical from the 21-year-old but it
dug Leeds out of a hole of their own making in Norfolk as the Whites’ cream
eventually rose to top once more. What’s even more encouraging is Saturday was
the first time Farke had a full complement of attacking players available to
him.
With Gnonto returning from injury to join Bamford, Jaidon
Anthony and Ian Poveda on the bench, the manager had options and a fabulous
amount of depth to turn to in order to rescue the game. Every player offers
something different, but they all possess the talent needed to change games,
particularly at Championship level.
That’s a frightening prospect moving into the most hectic
part of the season, when rotation and squad management will be the key to
success as the games come thick and fast. Farke not only has the ability to
rest key men over the next few months, he also has a get out of jail free card
to use when things aren’t quite going Leeds’ way.
It’s that attacking depth that ought to ensure Leeds remain
battling at the top end of the second tier this season and with Leeds sitting
third on the back of three straight wins, they have the top two firmly in their
crosshairs. They have the chance to build even more momentum over the next week
with the visit to Stoke City on Wednesday before returning to Elland Road to
take on Huddersfield, and as the offensive line begins to flex its muscles,
Farke will rightly demand six more points.