Leeds United boss Daniel Farke responds to momentum question after Aston Villa sucker punch — YEP 21/2/26

By Graham Smyth

Daniel Farke saw his Leeds United side pegged back by an 88th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke says it's 'crazy' to come away from Aston Villa disappointed with a point, but a late goal gave him that feeling.

The Whites were just minutes away from a famous win against the side sitting third in the Premier League when Tammy Abraham kneed the ball over Dominic Calvert-Lewin into the net to rescue a point for Villa.

Leeds led from the 31st minute when Anton Stach stuck a 35-yard free-kick into the very top corner, catching Emi Martinez completely off guard.

It could have been 2-0 when Jayden Bogle's cross found Lukas Nmecha in front of goal but his diving header was well saved. Villa also had chances and hit the post earlier in the game, but eventually broke through two minutes from the end to level.

Leeds have conceded late goals in several games this season to deny them an even greater points tally, but currently have a seven-point cushion between themselves and the drop zone.

"Yes, probably we would fight for Europe [without the late concessions]," said Farke. "We have also scored several late goals.

“It's only crazy that you travel away from one of the title contenders, one of the best sides in the country and in Europe and are slightly disappointed with just one point.

“If you concede so late and have a chance to score the second goal, keep in mind the goal was avoidable and second phase out of a corner in the 89th minute, you feel a bit disappointed at first. But my warriors deserve all the praise and compliments, top away performance, came so close to winning all three. I think well deserved point."

Farke was asked if he or any of his players could have done anything differently to arrest Villa's late momentum as they pressed for a leveller.

"Not too much," he responded. "It's quite normal. I think our defensive structure against the ball made it so difficult for them to create chances.

“We were very good in possession in the first half. It's normal that one of the best teams in the country against a newly promoted side, who can bring quality on from the bench and need to win the game, fighting for a title, can be dominant.

"I still got the feeling after we changed to a 5-3-2 it was a bit risky to bring a striker in for a midfielder but I wanted to set the sign we want to take part further on.

“It's not that you can dominate, you still have to defend really well. We could have scored a second, Nmecha really good chance, Calvert-Lewin a good chance, I think Calvert-Lewin would have scored a header if Joe [Rodon] doesn't take the ball away from the free-kick.

"The manner we conceded, we gave away the throw too cheap, could have been more switched on for the give and go, Joe Rodon made a monster block but sadly out for a corner and then Joe could have jumped earlier. We would celebrate three points but football is about details. I don't complain too much, a really good performance."

Leeds lost Gabriel Gudmundsson to illness at half-time but the Swede touch-and-go to take part at all. Farke wanted to keep his left-back on the pitch for longer but was forced into a reshuffle that saw Jaka Bijol coming on and James Justin moving to the left.

"He was ill, he felt more and more unwell in the last days," the German said of Gudmundsson. "We were a bit concerned that he couldn't start. Thank God there was no temperature and he played his part in a really solid first half. I would have preferred him to stay a bit longer, we wanted to keep Rodon against Watkins with his pace and sharp movements.

“Jaka had to play 120 minutes [in the FA Cup], we wanted to manage his minutes a bit. It caused some changes, positions. How they reacted was great, another sign of whoever is needed steps in."