The Leeds boss admits he took a gamble
James Smailes
05:00, 11 Feb 2026
Daniel Farke, Manager of Leeds United
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Daniel Farke, Manager of Leeds United(Image: Getty Images)
Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke couldn't hide his delight after seeing his side come from two goals down to rescue a draw at Chelsea, with his overriding feeling clear - 'thank god it worked'.
Farke believes he surprised Chelsea with his line-up, that given some enforced changes saw a different formation and structure as well as changes to the personnel.
Without Pascal Struijk due to a hip flexor injury and with Dominic Calvert-Lewin injured and Noah Okafor dropping to the bench, the Leeds boss sent for Sebastiaan Bornauw, Jaka Bijol and Lukas Nmecha to start, with six defenders named in the XI.
Key to that was Jayden Bogle playing just ahead of James Justin on the right wing. A gamble no doubt given the line-up, but one that paid off with Bogle Leeds' clear man of the match in a terrific display, much to the delight of Farke.
Asked about Bogle's role, the Leeds boss was beaming as he said; "Thank god we saw today he could play on the right wing and also play in the pocket.
"We surprised Chelsea a little bit. If we didn't concede such cheap goals we may have seen more of him. If the game went on for longer, we would have seen more from him going forward.
"I didn't want to disrupt Justin and Bogle's relationship. Jayden had never played that role, but my players have shown their tactical flexibility. Thank god it worked and for that all credit goes to them."
The point proved massive for Leeds on a night when Tottenham Hotspur lost again to fall behind the Whites in the table, while West Ham conceded a 96th minute equaliser to Manchester United to stop them clawing back any points on Leeds.
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