Leeds United boss Daniel Farke unsurprised by individuals at Liverpool but rails against ref decision — YEP 1/1/26

-

By Graham Smyth

Daniel Farke made four changes to his Leeds United side and saw them take an excellent point at Liverpool.

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke was not surprised by the performances produced by players parachuted into the team for the 0-0 draw at Liverpool, but he found some of the refereeing hard to believe.

Leeds had to defend for long spells but keeper Lucas Perri only had to make two saves of any note with his outfield team-mates working tirelessly to frustrate the defending champions.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin came off the bench to stick the ball in the net only for his joy to be snatched away by an offside flag, while Anton Stach put a late chance over the crossbar.

Farke made four changes to his starting line-up and only one of them was forced upon him by injury. Sebastiaan Bornauw came in to replace the injured Joe Rodon, but James Justin, Lukas Nmecha and Ilia Gruev also received starts in place of regular starters Jayden Bogle, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Noah Okafor.

The manager's selection was justified by the performance as much as the result, which stretched Leeds' unbeaten streak to six games and gave them a second draw of the season against Liverpool.

"Delighted for them [the incoming quartet]," said Farke. "I was not surprised, I work with them every day and see what they're doing. Sebastiaan and JJ - I was convinced, but you never have a guarantee. Sebastiaan's debut at Anfield, to show such a performance is impressive. We have a period now without several key players. It was hard fought.

“Four Premier League fixtures in 10 days, I back my whole squad. It proved today we need each and every player, every team-mate to chip in to show this unity and togetherness. Definitely impressive performances under the circumstances."

The overall performance was a 'special' one in Farke's eyes because they not only restricted Liverpool's chances but had a few spells themselves in both halves.

He believes the clean sheet will be big for morale in the dressing room as well as important for a table that now shows Leeds seven points clear of the drop zone and three ahead of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.

The result did not come without cost for the Whites. Captain Ethan Ampadu was yellow carded by referee Chris Kavanagh for a second half handball and will now be suspended for Sunday's Elland Road clash with Manchester United.

"I have to calm myself down, I'm still struggling to accept this," said Farke on the captain's caution.

"When I see in the first half foul situations against Anton Stach are not given and there was a clear foul against Ethan, we lose the ball and the instinctive free-kick he gave was never a yellow card. To give a yellow for this situation is, I have to be a bit careful, hard to accept. Jaka [Bijol] also got a yellow in this scene. Lots of adversity at the minute.

“Six minutes time added on, I don't know where that came from, six were up, he played further on and then we wanted to go for a counter and he blew. Several situations I'm really struggling to accept today. But of course Ethan is a key player and we will miss him a lot in the upcoming fixture but we have to find a solution."

The good news for Leeds is that both Bornauw and Gruev's late physical issues were nothing more than cramp, though Farke says there will have to be late decisions on fitness due to the workload and the quick turnaround.

Popular posts from this blog

Leeds United reveal three-man shortlist as they eye major striker signing — trio have a combined 19 Premier League career goals — Leeds Press 3/5/25

-
Image
by Kwadwo Hemeng Leeds United are playing in the Premier League next season. But with the transfer window coming up, there are still some questions about the squad that need to be answered. Starting striker Joel Piroe has been first choice over the last two seasons. And he has delivered, scoring over 35 goals. But in recent weeks, Leeds’ rumoured moves show that there may be doubt over his ability heading into the Premier League. Over the last month, the club have been linked with George Hirst, and more recently Celtic star Daizen Maeda. Wrexham are also said to be very interested in signing Patrick Bamford this summer, so Leeds will definitely sign a new striker. TEAMtalk are reporting that Leeds United have drawn up a shortlist of strikers for the summer. It includes two current Premier League players, and a former Tottenham star. But surprisingly, the trio have just 19 career goals in the competition. Whichever of them the club decides to sign will have a big say in survivin...
Read more

Patrick Bamford on the scoresheet as Joe Gelhardt nets four in 10-2 Leeds United thrashing — Leeds Press 31/7/25

-
by Kwadwo Hemeng Leeds United have had some impressive results in pre-season so far. In three games, they have failed to lose and have racked up impressive scorelines. Thursday was no different. While the first team is preparing for the next friendly against Villarreal, the U21s side, with a host of first team stars, thrashed Norweigian side Lyn 1896 10-2 in a pre-season friendly this afternoon. There were some surprising names on the scoresheet – Patrick Bamford scored, Sam Greenwood netted a brace and Joe Gelhardt scored four goals in the game. This is the second friendly the trio have featured in; they played in the friendly against Hartlepool last weekend. The trio did not make the trip to Germany, as Daniel Farke has instructed them to find new clubs. Patrick Bamford was informed after a long personal conversation with the Leeds boss. Farke then revealed this crucial information right after the club’s first game against Manchester United. According to the German coach, h...
Read more

Leeds United full-time apology, wantaway man's tunnel appearance and off-camera Villarreal moments — YEP 3/8/25

-
By Graham Smyth The YEP’s verdict and off-camera moments from Leeds United’s 1-1 draw against Villarreal at Elland Road in the club’s penultimate pre-season friendly. Leeds United are edging closer to a Premier League return with just one more friendly left to play now that a 1-1 draw with Villarreal is in the books. It was far from a thriller at Elland Road but there were positives to take, particularly for two individuals involved in the Whites goal. It was far from a good day for others, however. Here's the YEP take on Leeds' battle with LaLiga opposition. Good day Joel Piroe Another game, another goal. The Dutchman knows where the net is and with no new number 9 in the door yet, Piroe has put together a good case to start up top against Everton if the need arises. Lukas Nmecha has also looked sharp but Piroe's status as the club's best finisher appears to remain untouched. It helps that he came back for pre-season in such good shape too, because he wil...
Read more