Leeds United's 1-1 draw with AC Milan on Saturday brought up a number of key talking points.
Leeds United ended their pre-season campaign with an impressive 1-1 draw against AC Milan on Saturday to end their summer unbeaten. Anton Stach cancelled out Santiago Gimenez’s first-half opener with a brilliant curling effort just past the hour mark, with the German a standout as his side pushed for a winner that never came.
AC Milan had a couple of late chances to win it but Leeds will certainly leave Dublin knowing they had the better of a well-fought friendly, although it was not a perfect performance and some issues remain. Below, the YEP takes a look at four key takeaways from the draw.
Fitness concern highlights transfer priority
In his place was Isaac Schmidt, who again got caught out of position as Milan worked down their left to open the scoring on 31 minutes. That’s happened twice in as many games and the Italian side made an obvious effort to target Leeds’ right-hand side, with the Swiss international struggling once again.
"He's back out on the grass doing some individual work," Farke said of Bogle after full-time. "He's been out since two weeks, it's not ideal. I hope to have him back at some point during the next week, so that he can become a topic also for the squad against Everton. He's an important player for us and of course, I hope he will make it and then also be ready to play. We will see. He has missed the last two weeks, not ideal preparation for the first game."
Bogle has been a huge miss the last two games and while a return might be close, fresh fitness issues could emerge throughout the campaign. Whether Leeds decide to send Schmidt out on loan or not - it seems likely, given he’s reportedly agreed the terms of a move to Werder Bremen - that area is the main point of weakness defensively and it needs addressing sooner, rather than later.
Midfield dynamic
A lot of positions look set to pick themselves come August 18 but not so much in midfield, where Farke has five first-team options who have all played well in pre-season. Exactly how he plans to line up against Everton remains to be seen but the dynamic in Saturday’s unit was really interesting.
Ao Tanaka got the nod to play alongside Ethan Ampadu and Anton Stach but he certainly wasn’t nailed on as the furthest forward, with Stach a real threat. The 26-year-old was regularly in and around Joel Piroe, hit the crossbar inside 10 minutes and went on to score a brilliantly-taken equaliser.
Stach’s arrival in West Yorkshire was met with excitement over his ball-winning stats but in pre-season so far, he’s proven much more than a defensive destroyer, driving Leeds through the thirds and contributing with attacking moments. That role may change based on who he plays alongside but it’s easy to see the £17.4m signing grab a few goals this season.
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Good combinations
It’s at this point of pre-season you really need to see players gel and Farke will be encouraged by some of the slick link-up play he saw in Dublin. Down the left-hand side in particular, Willy Gnonto and Gabriel Gudmundsson were in tune with one another and Stach was more than happy to get involved too.
Gnonto has also linked up well with Tanaka and Bogle on the right this summer and looks Leeds’ sharpest attacker in pre-season, having clearly impressed Farke in deciding to return from his summer holidays early. In the Premier League, those sharp one-two’s are as effective as any dribbler and it’s why many expect the Italian to thrive this season.
Down the right on Saturday it was a little more starchy, with Schmidt struggling throughout and Dan James more willing to run directly at Milan full-back Pervis Estupinan, which he did to good effect. There is little doubt, however, that star quality is still needed out wide.
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Harrison feeling clear
Up until Saturday, Jack Harrison’s soft launch into life back at Leeds involved a Manchester United friendly in which fans of his side were the minority, and two German friendlies in which there were no supporters at all. He missed last weekend’s draw at Elland Road but felt the wrath of those inside the Aviva Stadium.
A substitute to start, having recovered from a minor adductor issue, Harrison was regularly booed by the Leeds-dominant crowd every time he ran down the touchline to warm up. He was booed heavily upon replacing Gabriel Gudmundsson at left-back and was jeered whenever on the ball, albeit one forward run was met with a combative loud cheer.
Farke told Harrison to expect a frosty reception and the winger doesn’t appear to be surprised, but the question is how long it will go on. Will the opportunity arise for everyone to move on before September 1? Is there a way Harrison can at least win over fans to the point of acceptance? It’s a really difficult situation.
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