DANIEL FARKE: WE SHOWED HOW SPECIAL THIS CLUB IS — Leedsunited.com 17/5/24

Leeds United booked their place in the Sky Bet Championship Play-Offs Final with a resounding 4-0 home victory over Norwich City.

In front of a packed-out Elland Road, goals from Ilia Gruev, Joel Piroe and Georginio Rutter got the Whites off to a dream start before the break, as Crysencio Summerville added a fourth just after the hour mark.

Following a memorable evening under the lights, United boss Daniel Farke gave his reaction to LUTV.

“It was one of our most complex performances of the season, against a really good side,” explained the German. “First of all, congratulations to Norwich for such a good season.

“We had to be spot on in each and every moment to show such a performance. We were great in possession and created so many chances.

“If I want to be critical, I would speak about our effectiveness to use all these chances, but overall it was a well deserved win. It was a brilliant night for all of us.”

The Whites took the lead early on thanks to Gruev’s inventive free kick, before goalkeeper Illan Meslier produced a magnificent one-on-one save to deny Norwich’s Josh Sargent.

“All credit goes to the analyst team and my assistant coach who is responsible for this,” said Farke, discussing the opener. “Obviously you can’t plan a goal like this, you need the creativity and inspiration, and also the quality of the player. It was important today to get the first goal, for the confidence and also for the tactical approach.

“I know Illan is not the finished product because he is young and can improve in different areas, but for me he is the best goalkeeper in this league in terms of clean sheets. Today, he hardly had a touch and was just watching the game from 50 yards behind, but when you need a goalkeeper to be there with such a world class save, it is always a sign of quality and I am glad Illan was able to show this today. It was such a crucial moment to keep momentum in the game.

“A reset was needed because when you look at the average age and the starting lineup, I think the oldest player was Glen Kamara perhaps on the pitch. It is quite normal that we don’t have consistency in each and every game when players are out [with injuries]. It was important then with this young side to take the first step again to be defensively really well structured and be really solid. That is what we were away at Carrow Road and then today we wanted to take the second step to return to our possession-based football and be creative.

“After 4-0 in the second leg, I can’t complain too much! Now our eyes are only on Wembley, of course. For nights like this, this is why we work so hard. Elland Road was rocking for a top-class game from our side and this is why we all come to football. We want to repeat this at Wembley. It was a great advertisement, not just for the team but for the whole club. We showed again how special this club is and hopefully we can bring it over the line at Wembley.”