Joe Donnohue's Leeds United Verdict: Dan James gives Elland Road PA system future guidance as title credentials further boosted — YEP 11/12/24

By Joe Donnohue

Leeds stood up to the sternest test they are likely to face at Elland Road this season with the bit between their teeth as Middlesbrough were defeated 3-1.

Not many sides have come to Elland Road and taken the spoils since Daniel Farke took over in July 2023. Only Southampton and Blackburn Rovers managed it last season, while Burnley and Middlesbrough have done so, in vastly differing circumstances, this year.

Despite those results during the opening weeks of the 2024/25 campaign, Leeds have, for the most part, been impenetrable on home turf.

Derby County were the most recent visitors to LS11, leaving without a goal or a point, the same as Luton Town, Queens Park Rangers and Plymouth Argyle, Sheffield United, Coventry City and Hull City before them. Several have tried, and failed, to withstand the league-high quality on display at Elland Road. Strictly speaking, even Burnley were fortunate to come away with their win earlier in the season, especially grateful to goalkeeper James Trafford having benefited from a Manor Solomon slip for the game's only goal.

Plymouth didn't manage a shot, Derby mustered just three, QPR managed five, none of which were on target, tallies mirrored by Chris Wilder's Blades weeks earlier in Leeds' first statement performance of the season.

Back in May, circumstances dictated that Leeds had to go for it, leaving them exposed and beaten by Southampton on home turf. Weeks earlier, Blackburn executed a Sammie Szmodics-inspired smash-and-grab with three shots to their hosts' 19.

Since Farke's arrival, no team has come to Elland Road in the league and played Leeds off the park, that much is clear.

When the manager made eight changes to his lineup for the visit of Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup earlier this season, though, Leeds did look second best by quite a margin.

Therefore, there was a real case for this prolific Boro side doubling as the sternest challenge to Leeds' Elland Road dominance. The Riversiders have looked one of the best sides in the division this term, accumulating more Expected Goals (xG) than any other team, scoring the joint-second most alongside Leeds, winning games by huge margins, three players scoring five-or-more goals, three more players registering five-or-more assists.

On Tuesday night, Boro became the eighth team in succession to taste defeat in Leeds' back yard.

Similar to the cup tie in mid-August, Leeds made changes on a bitterly cold evening, although this time partly enforced. Junior Firpo dropped out after picking up a hamstring injury during last weekend's win over Derby and Jayden Bogle sat out, too, having also undergone a scan following the weekend.

The squad, more settled than at the beginning of the campaign and now counting Player of the Season contender Ao Tanaka among Farke's favoured starters, may have been without its first choice full-backs but aside from that, was about as strong as Farke could have hoped - a starting Ethan Ampadu aside. That said, three of the back four who started the 3-0 cup defeat by Boro also lined up alongside each other for their visit in the league.

Leeds, looking strong on paper, set the tone from the off, limiting Boro's trouble-makers Finn Azaz and Ben Doak to the occasional touch, none of which came in dangerous areas. United's full-backs pushed high, Byram inverted; Wober with chalk on his boots, and the central midfielders dropped deeper to dictate play.

On more than one occasion Byram found the run of an electric Dan James down the right, which yielded Leeds' opener and should have delivered a second shortly thereafter. On the opposite side, Wober was found numerous times by a lofted, searching pass.

Boro 'keeper Seny Dieng endured a difficult evening at Turf Moor last weekend, lobbed by ex-Elland Road loanee Connor Roberts from distance. He looked just as uncomfortable under the lights in front of the South Stand during the first half, fluffing his lines as Leeds piled on the pressure.

James' low cross was met by Joseph whose attempt Dieng thwarted, but the Riversiders' stopper made a meal of the resulting melee, clearing with his legs only to see the ball ricochet off Gnonto and find the back of the net.

In almost a carbon copy of the move that yielded the Italian's goal, Leeds should have been two up but James' inviting low cross after beating his man in the corner, was a yard in front of line-leader Joseph.

Even though the hosts were dominant in possession, they could perhaps count themselves lucky to still be in front at the break as replays showed Joe Rodon's attempted clearance inside the penalty area to have actually been a foul on Riley McGree who had arrived on the Welshman's blindside.

The tide turned somewhat at the break as Boro hit the front and enjoyed more sustained periods of possession. It produced a corner kick on the far side, which was headed into his own net by Wober, his hands immediately finding his head upon the realisation of his error.

Meslier was called into action to deny McGree shortly thereafter, and then decisively from Doak, smothering the ball at the winger's feet with the score poised at 1-1 and the visitors smelling an opportunity.

But the points were to be Leeds', as Man of the Match Dan James, already denied once by Dieng, did not make the same mistake a second time, firing hard into the roof of the net to put Leeds back in the driving seat. It was a goal which lifted the home crowd and sucked the life out of Boro, whose endeavouring start to the second half made way for a more jaded impression of recent teams who have had the misfortune of visiting Elland Road.

The icing on the cake came in stoppage time as the ever-selfless Tanaka squared for Brenden Aaronson, whose tireless display must have had physicians in the stands questioning whether he was in fact utilising a third, as yet undiscovered, lung.

Farke celebrated more vehemently than usual at the final whistle. His usual geeing up of the crowd was preceded by fist pumps of the vigorous kind, punching the sky with all his might. Middlesbrough made Leeds work for their three points and yet they were still deserving of them. With the heels of James, on his 100th Leeds appearance, still cooling from an electric, goal-laden display, Boro trudged from the field and Leeds conducted their eighth straight lap of honour. Yet again, they had limited their opponents to a meagre tally of shots on goal - six in total, one more than Sheffield United managed. The Elland Road PA system blared the backing track to Tanaka's terrace chant, 'Tequila' by The Champs, but Queen's 'Another One Bites The Dust' might've been more apt, for the side who went back to the summit of the table and seek to be crowned Kings of the Championship.