Leeds United boss Daniel Farke gives his post-match view on the Whites’ last gasp defeat to Fulham
A 'heartbroken' Daniel Farke said Leeds United deserved a point before a sucker punch at Fulham and admitted the hosts' gamechanger was out of the Whites' price range.
Leeds had a point in their grasp on 94 minutes until Gabriel Gudmundsson's unfortunate own goal decided the game in Fulham's favour. The Whites could claim to have had the best chances in a first half lacking quality and entertainment. Dominic Calvert-Lewin should have done better with a header and Sean Longstaff lashed a thunderbolt off the top of the crossbar.
The visitors started the second half well too, Brenden Aaronson bringing a stop from Bernd Leno at his near post. But Farke's men came under more and more pressure as the game wore on. Fulham substitute Kevin then changed things completely, giving the hosts serious danger on the left and forcing Karl Darlow into one of a number of sublime saves. And deep in stoppage time Fulham won a corner, the ball caught Gudmundsson completely by surprise and he headed into the back of his own net.
What Daniel Farke said about Leeds United defeat
"Heartbroken and I feel for the players of course," said Farke on the manner of the defeat. "It was an excellent away performance. We were the better side in a tight first half, a shot against the crossbar. Of course with the substitutions Fulham were a bit under pressure to take more risks, they had more possession and put more pressure on us. We allowed not one real chance, sometimes perhaps a strike from 25 yards.
“If you then lose a game in the 96th minute, the way the corner kick developed was a strange situation - there was a throw for us but they changed their decision to a throw for them. We would have deserved to have three clean sheets and a fifth point.
“You just have to feel for the lads, I'm pretty proud. I'm proud of what we did today after not the easiest couple of weeks - deadline day and players who just came back from injuries. I have just compliments for this performance. Football is like this, it can be cruel. We were very unlucky."
Farke on Fulham star man Kevin
Farke insisted that Kevin's impact came as no surprise to him. Fulham added the £34.6m winger on deadline day and his second half introduction piled the pressure on the Whites at Craven Cottage. A difference maker was what Farke wanted from the last days of the window but his club came up short on deadline day.
"No [not a surprise] because if you spend so much money you know what you get," said Farke. This is why I was so much on it to add quality to our offence. If you're capable to bring such a player you can inspire the whole stadium. This is the difference quality can make. I was aware of his quality, the only bad thing is we certainly couldn't afford him."
Daniel Farke explains decision over Leeds United wingers
As for Farke's own wingers, he brought in Noah Okafor for a first start on the left and replaced Daniel James on the right with Brenden Aaronson. James came on in the second half only to pick up a knock and had to be substituted himself by Willy Gnonto.
James' involvement with Wales, Aaronson's performance in training and his defensive profile convinced Farke it was the right decision from the start.
"[DJ] was on Tuesday involved in an international game with 90 minutes, had just one training session with us and we decided to have a fully recovered Brenden Aaronson, who has trained really well," said the German. "We wanted to do the hard work against a really good Fulham left side. We need a winger to run in both directions. I think Brenden played excellently. The plan was to use a bit more rested Daniel James on the counter with his pace to make things happen. Unlucky he got a hit into his body and we were forced to substitute him off. Very unlucky development and I hope it's not too bad. I hope it's nothing major so he's available pretty soon."
Lack of goals remain an issue for Leeds United
For the third time in four Premier League games Leeds could claim to be competitive and relatively solid defensively, but they still have just one goal to their name and that came from an opening day penalty. Farke says keeping things tight and trying to nick results is how they must operate on the road this season.
"I've addressed it several times," he said. "Once the transfer window was open I mentioned what we would have needed. I won't address it right now because we have the players we have. We have to have this approach for the whole season, we need to be rock solid at the back. No criticism of my attacking players. As a newly promoted side this is exactly how we have to approach the game. Of course we're lacking a bit. We have to make sure we're rock solid, have many clean sheets and to score here and there in order to win or draw a game. I would have preferred to have a few more but this is our squad, we have to approach games exactly like we did today. It's just unlucky we don't travel back with a point or even all three with a counter attack."
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