Leeds United were beaten 2-0 by Burnley on Saturday afternoon as pressure grows for Daniel Farke to keep his side out of the mire.
Leeds failed to beat Burnley on two occasions last season despite pipping them to the title in May, and that form continued today.
An 18th-minute header from Lesley Ugochukwu opened the scoring as Leeds failed to deal with a Kyle Walker cross. While United had their chances to level in either half, they were then dealt a suckerpunch as Loum Tchaouna rifled in a stunning second for the hopes.
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It leaves Leeds suffering their fourth defeat in eight games, still outside the relegation zone but squandering a big chance to create daylight.
Here’s five things we learned from Burnley 2-0 Leeds United…
1: Pascal Struijk out, Jaka Bijol in
The first and most obvious thing we learned is that now is the definite time for Pascal Struijk to come out.
He came under fire for how he didn’t deal with Spurs’ counters in that loss, and today was worse. Ugochukwu ghosts into the box for a free header, which should not happen between two centre-backs from close range.
Pascal Struijk must be dropped for Jaka Bijol next week. (Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough)
Then, a really sloppy pass is intercepted that ultimately led to Burnley’s second, the clincher.
When you’ve got arguably your best centre-back sitting on the bench for eight games, it looks even more glaring.
Jaka Bijol didn’t come here to sit on the bench. He showed on duty with Slovenia that he’s ready to start games. Give him a chance.
2: Brenden Aaronson isn’t producing anything
At the top end of the pitch, I’m willing to give Farke some leeway because of injury dilemmas leaving his winger options short.
That being said, there’s a persistence with Brenden Aaronson on the right wing, and it’s going nowhere.
Aaronson has been routinely unable to create chances consistently, even in one of the best Championship sides in history. That trend continues this season.
The bar’s set lower for him, so when he was praised for more encouraging performances previously, it’s still not enough for a side fighting to stay up.
It’s hard to see what Farke does while James isn’t fully fit, plus Willy Gnonto being injured. But he has to change something, because Aaronson on the right is not working.
3: Anton Stach could also be dropped
Another surprising drop-off since that win at Wolves has been Anton Stach.
I would still think over the course of this season that Stach will prove to be Leeds’ best midfielder, but his form has fallen off a cliff since that masterclass at Molineux.
He was poor against Bournemouth, struggled against Spurs, and the same was the case today.
The first goal saw Ugochukwu breeze past him for a free header, then Tchaouna had so much space to score the second, both players that Stach should be tracking.
Anton Stach failed to track his runner as Burnley scored against Leeds. (REUTERS/Peter Powell)
At this level, you get punished.
With Ao Tanaka on the bench, you wonder if that’s a decision to make too.
4: Gabriel Gudmundsson at least is a positive
Perhaps the only positive. Yet again Gabriel Gudmundsson is Leeds’ best and most consistent player during a game.
When Leeds looked to break down Burnley through their approach play, Gudmundsson’s link-up was their best option.
The final ball was lacking somewhat, but it wasn’t the Swede that was solely to blame, everyone’s final ball was shocking.
He and Jayden Bogle could be crucial for Leeds creating more chances. Is there a way for Farke to get them into better positions more often?
5: Pressure mounting for Daniel Farke all of a sudden?
Eight points from eight games, extrapolated over a season gives you 38 and probable survival.
That’s encouraging if you want to be a glass-half-full. However, you’d have every right to be in meltdown after losing to the side with the worst underlying metrics in the division.
Pressure could mount on Daniel Farke very soon at Leeds United. (Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough)
I’m not insinuating that it’s time to go for Farke. That being said, the pressure inevitably grows quite quickly in this current run of games.
Losing to Burnley shifts all the pressure to beating West Ham. There’s every chance they bounce with Nuno in charge and the quality of their squad compared to ours.
Lose to West Ham and all of a sudden, you’ve been beaten by two sides around you, and you wonder what that does for Farke’s position.