Farke's men got the better of Chelseaplaceholder image
Farke's men got the better of Chelsea | AFP via Getty Images
Daniel Farke has a very intentional game plan that allowed Leeds United to beat Chelsea.
Jaka Bijol scored within six minutes, while Ao Tanaka scored with a superb long range strike to double Leeds’ lead before the break. Pedro Neto pulled one back for Chelsea, but a big defensive error from Tosin Adarabioyo handed Dominic Calvert-Lewin an unmissable chance to finish off the win for the home side.
Even having only 29% possession on the night, Leeds had more shots and shots on target than Chelsea, proving particularly dangerous going forward, and speaking after the game, Whites boss Farke admitted it was part of his plan to allow Chelsea to have the ball in certain areas.
“This is why we have worked so desperately in the past, to bring us back on this level. We want this magic night,” said the delighted German.
"Unbelievable atmosphere tonight, playing one of the best sides in the world, and to win this game and also deserve to, back to our best defensive behaviour, scored three goals, could have scored perhaps even a few more.
"Of course, it was expected, it was a tough night when you had to suffer a bit, Chelsea had lots of possession, but I think there's also no doubt that we deserve to win this game. So we were better in shots and shots on target, the expected goals and chances, big chances, so set pieces, so I think we deserve to win this game and this is a great feeling for us.”
Farke on how to beat Chelsea
Revealing his Chelsea blueprint, Farke added: “I always spoke about, of course, we have to be as a promoted side a bit more flexible than a side who perhaps dominates a league. I would love to bring our approach always easily on the pitch and dominate the game with 80% possession, but sometimes also, when you face the best sides, you have to mirror them.
“You have to take their strength away; you have to allow them possession in areas when they can't hurt you and sometimes you have to tweak your formation also a little bit.
“Unbelievable shift from the lads, physical outperformance again of the opponent, second to none. This team is top fit. They showed great heart, great character, great unity, great fighting spirit also. It felt also a long time coming because we had also in the last two games really many good results, especially this top half at Man City, but also last home game.”
The result sees Leeds move three points ahead of the drop zone, albeit West Ham can catch up with a win over Manchester United on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Chelsea are in fourth and three points behind Aston Villa in third ahead of Saturday’s date with AFC Bournemouth.
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