Daniel Farke will know that his position as Leeds United manager is coming under scrutiny this week, and a turnaround in form is the only way to stop the doubts creeping in further.
Leeds deservedly beat West Ham in October, but a sorry performance away to Brighton has sunken the mood yet again.
Losing at the AMEX to Brighton and failing to score is a familiar feeling for Leeds. However, the manner in which Leeds played themselves into trouble doesn’t help Daniel Farke’s case whatsoever.
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Daniel Farke’s worrying Leeds United assessment yet again after Brighton defeat
Individual errors and sloppy performances didn’t help Leeds’ chances on the south coast. That said, Leeds’ defeat was down to a huge flaw in their system at the AMEX, trying to play short through Brighton’s press, and ultimately being undone time and again.
The stats paint a very obvious picture of the Seagulls’ dominance, with a 3-0 scoreline flattering United:
Brighton v Leeds
50% Possession 50%
491 Passes completed 486
3.07 xG 0.50
14 Shots 5
24 Tackles 12
26 Touches in opposition box 18
50 Final third entries 35
53% Duels won 47%
Farke, though, looked to use the stats to suggest performances of late have been fine, before failing to create much at all vs Brighton.
“In several away games, at Fulham and Wolves, we created good xG,” Farke said, per Beren Cross. “Not today. First time in a long time, we have not created much xG. Not good enough, but across 10 games, sometimes games like this come around for a newly-promoted team. Arsenal one, this is the second.”
In terms of anything that pleased the boss, Farke responded:
“Reaction after 10 minutes. Dominating possession in an away game for periods. How we started the second half. When you are 3-0 down, sometimes you can concede more goals, but it was important to show togetherness at that point.”
There’s only so much creation of xG and possession that Leeds can have before fans get tired. Seeing results and performances noticeably drop is the main thing that will decide our season and Farke’s position in the meantime.
“You can’t have better statistics than we did today in an away game in the Premier League,” Farke said after a dismal 2-0 defeat at Burnley, per the BBC. “When Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City travel here even they won’t have better statistics. We won each and every statistic but in football it is also just about goals. They were more effective than us today.”
It’s not the first time Leeds have found themselves slipping into a relegation scrap despite having favourable underlying statistics. When Leeds were last in the division, Jesse Marsch faced significant pressure around this time of the season.
Jesse Marsch was sacked at Leeds United as results failed to match what he perceived to be good performances. (REUTERS/Carl Recine)
Despite us Leeds fans justifiably being unhappy with what our eyes were showing us each week, Marsch was defiant.
“Just lacked a little bit of that last-action quality, but it’ll come. A really strong tactical performance, clean in so many ways, a lot of good performances individually,” Marsch told Sky Sports following a 0-0 draw with Brentford in January 2023, his penultimate game in charge before being sacked 15 days later.
“So, there’s momentum and it doesn’t necessarily reflect the results, but we can feel that we’re coming together and we’re playing better and better.”
It may be a harsh comparison 10 games in for Farke. Leeds look incredibly competitive and worthy of survival when they play at Elland Road.
But, on their travels, there are parallels to Marsch’s setup. Leeds boast solid underlying statistics, but are fundamentally not good enough to compete in Premier League games away from home.
Ultimately, possession and other figures can paint whatever picture Farke likes. The scoreline and how we all watched us play tells a wildly different story.
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