Daniel Farke boasted incredible 53-game Leeds United run but has now failed in back-to-back games
The Leeds United manager’s record of defending leads has been impeccable but a step up to Premier League has increased the difficulty.
One of Leeds United’s biggest strengths under Daniel Farke was wiped for a second time in as many games during Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
For the second game running, Leeds went ahead on Sunday thanks to an early opener from Lukas Nmecha. His ricocheted goal-line block was far more fortunate than a brilliant finish at Nottingham Forest two weeks prior, but they counted the same and both put Farke’s side in a position of strength.
That position of strength lasted just 90 seconds at the City Ground and while Leeds retained their lead right through until half-time on Sunday, it was forfeited three minutes after the restart. Unai Emery made changes and got an instant reward, with substitute Donyell Malen finding Morgan Rogers whose deft finish evaded Lucas Perri.
Villa also had to wait a little longer than Forest to go ahead but go ahead they did, Rogers on hand again with his dipping free-kick beating a seemingly unsighted Perri. Leeds rallied to have an instant equaliser disallowed and continued to put pressure on their visitors, but it came to nothing and the full-time whistle was met with boos in sections of the crowd.
Farke’s record as Leeds boss when scoring first was impeccable. His side went 1-0 up on 51 occasions across two years in the Championship and lost exactly zero of those games, winning 45. This season, advantages against Everton and West Ham were defended and earned six of the Whites’ 11 points in total.
Forest two weeks ago was the first time in 54 games Leeds had scored first under Farke and gone on to lose. Sunday against Villa was the second in 55 and while that remains an impressive overall record, throwing away leads in back-to-back matches is concerning.
The level of opposition is one obvious explanation, with Farke’s first two years at Elland Road spent playing technically inferior opponents for the majority of the time. Forest might have been 19th when they hosted Leeds but boast an incredibly talented squad who have been rejuvenated by Sean Dyche, while Villa went fourth thanks to Sunday’s victory, their sixth in seven Premier League games.
Leeds United’s dismal second-half record revealed
Such quality is able to punish lapses in concentration. On Sunday, Villa’s attackers were largely kept quiet until Malen moved into space and wasn’t picked up. His cross was perfectly placed and weighted for Rogers to cleverly flick it beyond Perri and that was Leeds’ advantage wiped out.
Villa and Forest took a lead over Leeds within seven minutes of each other, with Morgan Gibbs-White netting in the 68th minute and Rogers grabbing his brace on 75. It’s a period where Farke’s side have been vulnerable, conceding five times between minutes 61 and 75 while failing to score a single goal during that time period.
During the opening 45 minutes of Premier League games, Leeds have scored nine goals while conceding eight, highlighting their ability to start quickly and get in opposition faces. The picture could not be more different after the break, with Farke’s side scoring two second-half goals while conceding 14.
Emery said following Sunday’s Elland Road meeting he could sense tiredness among the Leeds players after half-time and it’s little surprise, given how intense they were throughout. By the time Farke introduced Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Daniel James on 70 minutes, Villa had a foothold in the game and Rogers netted the winner five minutes later.
The introduction of James improved Leeds going forward and Willy Gnonto, brought on with 10 minutes to go, also looked sharp but Villa were happy to defend by that point and the onus was on a Whites side whose 11 goals is better only than Wolves. They were unable to improve on that tally.
Few will expect Leeds to take early leads against any of Manchester City, Chelsea or Liverpool in the coming weeks but they will score first on numerous occasions between now and May. Their ability to hold onto such advantages will go a long way to determining their fate.