Leeds United’s 1-0 defeat to Fulham was a real sickener for Daniel Farke’s side following Gabriel Gudmundsson’s own goal at Craven Cottage.
Leeds United have had a dismal time in the capital of late, with Leeds’ form in London since 2020 outlined earlier this week. They were looking to put an end to that against Marco Silva’s side.
Per Jonny Cooper of Opta, Leeds have now lost nine consecutive Premier League games. It’s a sorry state of affairs in West Yorkshire, having been able to make Elland Road a fortress for two seasons.
They cannot just rely on their home form, though, which is why the Wolverhampton Wanderers game is even bigger now. A lot was learned about Leeds vs Fulham but next week’s away fixture is now one with more weight.
Fulham v Leeds United - Premier League
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Jonny Cooper reveals two Leeds records have been set after Fulham loss
The post-match Fulham 1-0 Leeds ratings said a lot about the general quality of the match, with Leeds able to make things stodgy and showcase a robustness physically.
But they had no goal threat and Leeds needed a Raphinha-like player against Fulham as their match-winner, but unfortunately came up short in the market in that regard.
Guile and creativity is paramount for such low-margin games, with Leeds winning once 1-0 for their only goal of the league season so far. That came via the penalty spot, meaning they are yet to score in open play.
MORE LEEDS UNITED STORIES
As Cooper outlines, and it’s particularly eye-opening, Leeds have scored just one goal in their opening four league matches of a season for the first time in their history.
It gets worse than that, even if players like Noah Okafor impressed for Leeds at Fulham, as Cooper outlines another worrying statistic Leeds have matched for the second time ever.
He states that Leeds have made 23 changes to their starting lineups so far this season, which is the joint most after five matches in all competitions in a season in the club’s history.
For an added layer of context into Farke having to change the team through injuries or via not knowing his best XI yet, Farke was the manager who made the fewest alterations to his lineup in the Championship last season as well.
Daniel Farke and Marco Silva - Fulham 1-0 Leeds
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Farke bemoans lack of quality for Leeds defeat to Fulham
Speaking via Beren Cross of The Athletic, Farke said: “We are fortunate to have a good group and top characters. We know we don’t have best individual quality.
“So we have to be fitter, tighter, we need to show fighting spirit and be a bit more effective because we don’t have the individual quality like some other clubs.”
However, it can’t just be blamed on recruitment. Leeds have to find other ways of winning games played of this nature. The clash was tight, but they require more creative thinking to find ways to turn a point into three and not zero late on.