'Didn't manage to keep the fire burning' — Daniel Farke's admission after Leeds United draw with Crystal Palace — Yorkshire Post 20/9/26

By Tom Coates

Daniel Farke has reflected on Leeds United’s goalless draw with Crystal Palace

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke conceded his side could not “keep the fire burning” in Elland Road as they played out a goalless draw with Crystal Palace.

Having been ruthless in their 4-1 rout of Newcastle United earlier in the week, Leeds were blunt as they failed to break down Palace.

Leeds’ home was a cauldron of hostility as they clipped the wings of the Magpies under the Monday night lights, but an expectant crowd was given little to celebrate as the Eagles evaded a similar fate.

Daniel Farke’s admission

“I would take each and every night under the floodlights if I’m honest,” said Farke. “They're all human beings.

“On Monday night, we come out, the whole stadium was already before kick-off, exploding, the floodlights are on, it's a special atmosphere.

“Today, Sunday afternoon, everyone comes a bit more like, ‘come on, we want to be entertained’. It's also a bit [of a] different atmosphere and we didn't manage to keep the fire burning inside the stadium.”

Quality lacking

Leeds’ industrious nature was evident, but there was an alarming absence of quality in the final third. Dominic Calvert-Lewin cut an isolated figure at the top end of the pitch and support from the midfield was minimal.

“It was one of the days when it was a bit scruffy and a bit low in all aspects,” said Farke. “I think in these moments, we were sometimes not really enough.

“It was not like that we were lazy or something like this. We invested still enough, but football-wise, you can't explain always the result just by, ‘we have to fight more and have more intensity and win more’. Sometimes, yes, but not over the course of 38 game days.

“Sometimes you have to win a game also with quality. We didn't find this quality in our offensive game and in our offensive decision-making.

“If you don't have your best day, then you have to think a bit quicker, a bit quicker in the head. We didn't show this quality today.

“For that, yes, we tried to bring some different player positions in and later on to disrupt our structure, to disrupt their structure twice. But it was in the end today, it not enough to find the spark and then you have to accept the draw.”

Daniel Farke’s feedback to players

Leeds’ performance level may have dropped by some distance, but the draw has sent them into the first international break with their unbeaten league run intact.

Farke was visibly frustrated on the touchline at times, yet was keen to avoid losing sight of the bigger picture.

“They needed in the dressing room a bit more [of an] arm around the shoulder,” he said. “A bit of criticism, what we could have done better, yes, because we always speak about the things we can do better.

"But also not to lose a big picture of what we've done more or less overall [across] several months.

"They were also disappointed that we didn't win it because we had also the chance to move up to third position on the table, for example, to 11 points.”

Leeds are not back in action until October 10, when they will visit reigning Premier League champions Arsenal.

20/9 17:23