If you blinked, you probably missed it, but how about that for a week as a Leeds United fan? I’m willing to bet going into last week with our game at the Etihad Stadium, to be followed up by two quick, successive home games against Chelsea and Liverpool, most Leeds fans had written us off.
It really wasn’t looking good was it? After some lacklustre performances and silly mistakes, there appeared to be no hope going into the Manchester City match. Something in my mind thought, maybe we could get something positive from the week; a tiny glimmer of hope perhaps such as a point versus Chelsea, though I did not expect us to perform like that. For Daniel Farke, I think Christmas came early.
While four points from nine against three of the best sides in the country is genuinely very good, for me, it was the manner in which we got them; it reminded me of the spirit that we had when Marcelo Bielsa was in charge, during our first season back in the Premier League. That ‘never say die’ attitude.
Encouraging Performances That Could Change Our Season
That amazing thing that is called ‘hindsight’ – it’s probably only me thinking this, but ‘what if we had started the Man City match in what now seems to be our default 3-5-2/5-3-2 formation? That second half at their place, I thought was season-transformative and we were just so unlucky to lose in the manner that we did.
At one stage, when we got back into it, I actually thought we could take all three points, though I don’t think I’m the only Leeds fan who felt robbed of a point.
Going into the Chelsea match, I was feeling cautiously optimistic that we could nick a win and I certainly didn’t think we would lose. We didn’t only win though. For large parts of the game, we dominated one of the best sides in England with a value of about £1 billion. Our players didn’t look out of place, the goals we scored were top quality and, we could have won by more.
Jaka Bijol’s goal was absolutely textbook. That is how you attack a set-piece and he executed it to perfection; too many players these days don’t time their runs well enough or, even worse are static. The Slovenia international hit that delivery at pace and I personally think, it was a goal worthy of being taught to kids.
Tanaka’s strike was exceptional and I think we need to be taking long shots more often; we have the players capable of doing that, while I remember laughing when Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored. The work-rate from him and Lukas Nmecha to press and then force an error was both comical and brilliant. For me, the only downside to the game was the error from Lucas Perri; it was a needless goal and we should have got a clean sheet. I really can’t complain though.
Elland Road Delivers Again Under The Floodlights
This set up a hugely anticipated match against Liverpool at Elland Road on a wet and cold Saturday evening. Oh boy. At half-time, I thought we needed some fresh legs, a bit of spark though Farke was obviously managing the squad, after two tough matches in four days.
Five minutes into the second half told the same old story. Two defensive lapses allowed Hugo Ekitike in to score twice and I thought “here we go again”. Three positive substitutions later and it was Reds’ fans who were left feeling blue.
I like Willy Gnonto and with Brenden Aaronson as well, I just think the pair give us something dynamic in transition and are an opposition defender’s nightmare; they just don’t let up. Tanaka also.
Even without the penalty, I think we would have found a way back into the game. We appeared to have momentum. I’ve got to admit when Dominic Calvert-Lewin stepped up, I found myself wondering how many feet he was going to clear the crossbar by, but, what a penalty.
Anton Stach’s goal symbolised German efficiency. After the penalty decision, Liverpool looked scared to make a challenge in the box and Stach took full advantage.
You’ve got to give credit where it’s due also. Dominik Szoboszlai’s goal was sheer class. The dummy from Alexis Mac Allister and the Hungarian’s finish, I think gives us a bar to aspire to in terms of the type of quality player that we could eventually bring in. Though, if I was being hyper critical, we did make it easy for them to do that to be fair; we should have shut the move down on their transition and conceded a free-kick.
By this point, I had seen what we were capable of and just before the corner I remember saying, “goal here, Bijol”…obviously it wasn’t him but when Tanaka hit that and the net bulged, it reminded me that being a Leeds fan is worth it for dramatic moments like that.
