Former Leeds United defender Jon Newsome has taken aim at Daniel Farke’s side for delivering a toothless performance against Nottingham Forest.
Lukas Nmecha put Leeds in the lead to give the travelling fans cause for optimism after 11 minutes, before the wheels came off at the City Ground.
A Lucas Perri error allowed Ibrahim Sangare to pull Forest level before two second-half goals saw Leeds fall to a damaging Premier League defeat.
The loss only serves to ramp up the pressure on Daniel Farke, as Leeds stare down the barrel of a daunting run of fixtures after the international break.
Despite the Whites conceding three goals, Jon Newsome questioned Leeds’ attack as their cushion on the relegation zone disappeared.
Nottingham Forest v Leeds United - Premier League
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
Jon Newsome criticises ‘toothless’ Leeds United display
Speaking on BBC Radio Leeds immediately after full-time, Newsome criticised Leeds for their inability to break Sean Dyche’s Forest side down.
According to Newsome, Leeds were too slow to move the ball forward, dwelling on the ball in their own defensive third too much.
The Leeds title-winner said: “We look toothless, don’t we? I think we look toothless. We get possession, we have loads of possession. I mean, I’ve just looked at the stats. Leeds have had 54 % possession compared to Nottingham Forest, 46%. But that doesn’t paint the picture, does it?
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“Because we have loads of ball… in our own final third, halfway through, in our own half, sideways, sideways, backwards, into midfield, back again. We never seem to hurt the opposition, but the goal’s a great goal.
“We pick somebody’s pocket, and Aaronson does great, and Nmecha does wonderful, with the step over and fire it into the bottom corner, but what else did we create?
“Dyche plays a different kind of game, and he wants people to run in the channel. He pumps balls long, they pick up second balls, but they played the game in our half of the pitch and asked our defenders questions. We don’t seem to do that.”
Sean Longstaff in action during Nottingham Forest v Leeds United - Premier League
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
Stats highlight Leeds United’s lack of cutting edge in Premier League defeat
Despite a late spell of pressure from Leeds, including one curling effort from Dan James, Leeds were unable to find a second goal at the City Ground.
The FotMob stats from the game show how much more efficient Forest were in the final third, as they carved out more opportunities than their opponents.
Metric Nottingham Forest Leeds
Possesion 46 54
Passes in Opposition Half 141 112
Touches in Opposition Box 23 20
Total Shots 14 10
Shots on Target 6 3
Big Chances 3 0
Expected Goals 2.47 0.69
Forest had 14 shots to Leeds’ 10, with six shots on target to Leeds’ 3. Forest also carved out three big chances, while Leeds failed to create any.
The home side also had 141 passes in Leeds’ half and 23 touches in Leeds’ box, outperforming their opponents on both counts.