Daniel Farke noted how his Leeds United team came through pre-season unbeaten after contests with Manchester United, Villarreal and AC Milan. Of course, there is context behind this.
Leeds ought to have won the opener against Man United in Stockholm, the Whites lacked attacking potency against Villarreal, and AC Milan fielded a heavily rotated side. Wins against lower tier opposition in Germany were expected.
That said, pre-season is more about everything else than the actual result. The fact is that against top-level European sides, United failed to score more than once in a game and Farke himself is of the opinion that the attack force has not improved since the end of last season.
He has outlined how it is difficult to fully implement his tactics when he hasn’t got all of his signings through the door. What was evident from pre-season was his 4-3-3 formation ploy, a diversion from his usual 4-2-3-1 set-up.
Within this, while captain Ethan Ampadu sat as the defensive midfielder, those either side of him were allowed to push up and support the attack. At the same time, when in possession, the full-backs were allowed to take an advanced position.
Sometimes, a midfielder would come back in to form a back three but would then push up once the play reached the final third. It pointed to something that one must ponder on.
Perhaps aside from the Manchester United clash later on in the game, Leeds were able to adopt attacking poses for long periods. Against SC Verl and Paderborn, they were the favourites.
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Home advantage spurred that on against Villarreal. Possession against Milan was dominated due to their weakened side. But the reality is that Leeds will not have as tight a grip in the majority games next season and must be more defensive.
Full-backs pushing on provided excitement but also left holes on the flanks. How often two midfielders can advance up the pitch and leave Ampadu alone is also questionable in light of the typically rapid transitions of Premier League teams.
Pre-season is to prepare for what lies ahead next season yet there is an element of whether that has happened. Fitness, cohesion and integration have undoubtedly been a big plus, with seven signings through the door.
But even with the goalkeeper, Lucas Perri’s first 90 minutes will come against Everton in the opening game - albeit if there is one area which can cope with this, it is the shot-stopper. The main question here is have Leeds’ pre-season opponents reflected what is likely to happen next season?
Leeds United goalkeeper Lucas Perri
Leeds United goalkeeper Lucas Perri (Image: Tim Clayton/Getty Images)
The fault is not with Leeds, mind - they could not select which teams Manchester United and AC Milan chose to field. Milan organising a friendly with Chelsea for the day after their meeting with Leeds in Dublin surprised those at United. It led to the Serie A fielding a weakened team.
One positive to take is that Leeds only conceded more than once in one game and that was against SC Verl when the match was done and dusted towards the end. So it’s by no means a fruitless summer on the pitch - far from it.
But as for ideal preparations, especially with attackers still yet to be acquired, the summer cannot be classed as perfect ahead of the opening Premier League match against Everton on Monday.
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