'Difficult' - Crystal Palace boss outlines major Daniel Farke change he's seen at Leeds United
The Leeds United manager's newfound tactical flexibility has been on show this season.
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has been impressed by the tactical flexibility of his weekend rival, Daniel Farke, this season.
Leeds United head to Selhurst Park on Sunday looking to take another big step towards Premier League survival, with the chance to pull six points clear of West Ham if they lose against Manchester City today. The Whites are currently atop a four-team mini-table fighting to avoid 18th place and have the most favourable run-in.
After a difficult period through the autumn, Farke’s switch to a back three at Manchester City kickstarted a run of what is now four defeats in 16 league games. The Whites boss has since shown a flexibility beyond what many predicted, with his tactical tweak for a 4-1 home win over this weekend’s hosts most impressive.
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Leeds blew Palace away at Elland Road in December as Farke deployed a hybrid formation, with Joe Rodon seamlessly moving between right-sided centre-back and right-back while Jayden Bogle pushed up to right-wing. It’s one of many tricks Farke now has up his sleeve ahead of Sunday’s reverse at Selhurst Park.
“[He’s been] Excellent, getting promoted and doing so well, and also turning the right tweaks during the season,” Glasner said of his opposite number. “I think they had a difficult start, and then were doing really well, especially at home.
“It looked like it was a fortress very long, or it is still, I think, with just the [0-1] loss against [Manchester] City, but I think they could have won this game. They didn't take their chances, and then they got punished in one game.
“I think he plays a different style here at Leeds than he played in Germany with Borussia Mönchengladbach. There were many more short passes here, and is also quite direct, with [Dominic] Calvert-Lewin as the target player.”
Palace themselves look to have recovered from a significant wobble, with recent wins over Brighton, Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur lifting them onto 38 points. With nine games still to go, it feels they have pulled clear of relegation trouble.
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A 0-0 draw at home to Cypriot outfit AEK Larnaca in the Europa Conference League last-16 first-leg on Thursday drew some boos from the home crowd, however, with the all-important second-leg next week. Glasner doesn’t appear ready to give up on Premier League points any time soon though.
“I think the team is doing excellent,” he added. “We had a couple of weeks where we were really struggling. We talked about it due to different reasons. Overall, I'm really pleased with the performances in the last weeks and with the results we got and the consistency.
“We will try to get as many points as possible. As I said, I always want more than the season before. If we can achieve it, I don't know right now, but we will definitely go into every single game to get the win.
“We also know that in the Premier League, you never can take it for granted that you win a game. Therefore, huge respect for the Leeds side.”