Rival Championship boss gives Daniel Farke Leeds United and Brenden Aaronson selection advice
Queens Park Rangers head coach Marti Cifuentes has given Daniel Farke some Leeds United lineup advice ahead of the final eight games of the season.
Leeds fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Loftus Road before the international break, ensuring they remained top of the Championship table while domestic action takes a back seat.
United were not at their best in West London but still managed to come away with something from the game, partly through the influence of half-time substitute Willy Gnonto.
The Italy international is without a league start since 2024 but came off the bench to make an impact at QPR, helping Leeds back into the fixture with a through-ball which fed equalising goal provider Dan James.
After the two-all draw, QPR head coach Cifuentes shared his thoughts on the contest, explaining his side found the second half a great deal trickier than the first.
"I'm unhappy about the result, but I'm proud to compete at the level with Leeds against a very good side with a lot of quality coming from the bench.
"As Daniel [Farke] explained, I think that Gnonto had a big impact on the second half, and they were very dominant. It was not easy to contain them especially in the second half," the Spaniard said.
Gnonto's impact was notable given he had replaced Brenden Aaronson at the break; the American struggling once again to leave his mark on the contest despite being the preferred starter in Leeds' No. 10 role.
Aaronson has one goal and no further assists since the turn of the year, which has led some sections of the United support to call for Gnonto's inclusion from the start instead.
Cifuentes clearly felt the Italian forward carried more of a threat than the American he replaced, inadvertently suggesting to Farke he should probably consider starting the 21-year-old in that position for the remainder of the campaign.
Farke did admit he had considered Gnonto from the start but decided against it when selecting Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka as his central midfield pairing, as opposed to fielding the more defensively-minded Ilia Gruev, who would have offered more balance.
Leeds welcome Swansea City to Elland Road on their return to Championship action on March 29, an opponent Gnonto scored the winner against last year in the reverse fixture, which ended 4-3 after a stoppage time strike by the Italian.