Leeds United lessons learned vs Chelsea with 60-year milestone matched and £15m transfer pay-off
The key talking points from Leeds United’s brilliant Premier League win over Chelsea at Elland Road.
Leeds United’s best performance of the season was rewarded with a huge 3-1 win over Chelsea on Wednesday night. Goals from Jaka Bijol, Ao Tanaka and Dominic Calvert-Lewin ensured all three points remained at a rapturous Elland Road, with Pedro Neto’s second-half effort little more than a consolation.
A great evening for Daniel Farke, multiple summer signings and those inside Elland Road ended with Leeds three points clear of the relegation zone, albeit having played a game more than West Ham. Here are your YEP lessons learned from a brilliant night under the lights.
Daniel Farke gets it right
All the talk pre-game was about formations and while Farke kept his cards close to his chest in public, the German was always going to keep the 3-5-2 that proved so effective at Manchester City. It proved the same against Chelsea. Leeds got about their opponents from the off, packing out central areas and overrunning Enzo Maresca’s technically superior side.
Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson were given the freedom of either flank and relished it, while Calvert-Lewin was so rarely left isolated with Lukas Nmecha alongside him in what Gary Neville labelled an ‘old school’ front two. There has been frustration surrounding Farke’s tactics at points this season but it has to be said he got it absolutely right on Wednesday.
Joe Rodon’s Leeds United milestone
There was plenty of debate around how Farke might line up but one thing was for certain. Whether a back three or four, Joe Rodon always starts and Wednesday’s win over Chelsea marked an incredible milestone for the Welshman, who according to Opta’s Jonny Cooper became the first outfield player to start 100 consecutive league/play-off games since Norman Hunter in the 1960’s.
A true ever-present, Rodon has not missed a league game for Leeds since a 3-1 defeat at Southampton on September 30, 2023. And the 28-year-old just seems to be getting better every week, relishing the Premier League challenge he was unable to take on with Tottenham Hotspur. Hunter started 113 in a row and it’s hard not to see that record being broken.
The best of Jaka Bijol
In four Premier League appearances beforehand, the jury remained out on Jaka Bijol but Wednesday showed exactly why Leeds forked out £15million on the towering defender. In the middle of a back three, the Slovenian international was left to do what he does best, bullying Liam Delap into a 61st-minute substitution and heading away anything that came too close to Lucas Perri’s goal.
Bijol’s sixth-minute opener was a brutally powerful header which kickstarted it all at Elland Road, but he was just as powerful defensively and dovetailed really well with Rodon and Pascal Struijk. Of those who benefitted from a change of formation, it’s hard to see anyone other than the former Udinese man looking more at home in his role.
Gabriel Gudmundsson responds again
Few would argue that Gabriel Gudmundsson has been the most impressive summer arrival thus far and for the second time this season, he responded to adversity in the perfect way. After an unfortunate own-goal at Fulham he ran himself to the ground against Wolves and having been dropped for Manchester City, the Swede put in arguably his best performance of the season on Wednesday.
Gudmundsson had Estevao’s number almost instantly and dominated his side of the pitch, rattling into challenges and driving forward with the ball in a manner Elland Road has come to love. Equally important, for a relegation-battling team, is the defender’s response to adversity. Another who certainly looked to benefit from a positional tweak.
Roles reversed on Chelsea
A major worry during Leeds’ recent slump has been around issues in either box. Farke’s side have had to work really hard to create chances and find goals in recent weeks, but opponents have seemingly found it much easier. A bit of link-up down the left, a midfield runner lost, a shooter not closed down. But Chelsea were handed very little on Wednesday, indeed they were the ones gifting chances away.
Delap switched off and lost Bijol for the opener, Nmecha won the ball high up for the second and Noah Okafor pounced on two slow Chelsea players for the third. Leeds forced these errors on their opponents with an aggressive approach and were then clinical in punishing them. At the other end, they gave away virtually no gifts and were rewarded for it.