Stan Collymore in a circular inset next to Leeds United boss Daniel Farke
(Credit: Imago)
Niall Togher
Tue 19 August 2025 15:10, UK
Leeds United got off to a perfect start in the Premier League by defeating Everton 1-0 at Elland Road on Monday night.
It will likely be a long and challenging season for Daniel Farke and Co., but if Leeds can continue to defeat teams that are likely to finish midtable at best, then they will be giving themselves a real chance to avoid the drop.
Despite Leeds being the team on top throughout the bulk of the game, they lacked that creative spark in the final third until they were awarded a late penalty.
Anton Stach’s strike from the edge of the box was blocked by James Tarkowski, with the referee deeming it to be handball in a decision that Stan Collymore has criticised.
Anton Stach at Leeds United looking serious
Stach was sensational for Leeds last night (Credit: Imago)
Collymore goes on passionate rant after Tarkowski penalty incident
Substitute Lukas Nmecha made no mistakes from the spot as he emphatically converted his spot kick to mark his debut with a goal.
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However, the penalty incident itself has sparked much controversy, with the likes of Joey Barton disagreeing with the decision.
Collymore, well associated to Everton’s rivals Liverpool, himself also felt it wasn’t a penalty as the former Liverpool player came to Everton’s defence in a lengthy post on X on 19 August.
Collymore made 64 appearances for Liverpool between 1995-97
The forward managed to net on 28 occasions during that time
“As a defender, [Tarkowski] has every right to try to use legal means (torso) to stop the ball,” he wrote.
“The fact that he leaned into the ball is irrelevant unless he deliberately used his arm to stop the ball. He is absolutely allowed to use his torso, and unfortunately, humans can’t yet detach an arm.
“Secondly, he pulls his arm away (in a split second, absolutely aware his left arm would be a problem if the ball caught it, so he’s being honest, which should be taken into account) to try and get as much body on the ball as possible.
“These two points are facts.”
Tarkowski.
As a defender he has every right to try to use legal means (torso) to stop the ball. The fact he leant into the ball is irrelevant unless he deliberately used his arm to stop the ball. He is absolutely allowed to use torso and unfortunately humans can't yet detach an…
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) August 19, 2025
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More reinforcements needed to take games out of the referee’s hands
Whilst the decision to award Leeds a penalty was undoubtedly the correct one, Leeds should have already capitalised on their advantage within the game up until that point.
The Elland Road faithful will know that they cannot rely on the referees to make the correct decisions consistently throughout the season and must take matters into their own hands.
The Premier League is brutal, and more often than not, when you do not make your period of dominance count, you get punished.
Luckily for Leeds, this was not the case last night, but it was evident that more attacking reinforcements are needed to ensure that Farke’s side find the breakthrough when they are in the ascendancy during a game.
With Noah Okafor appearing to be on the verge of signing, hopefully, the Swiss winger can help solve this issue for Leeds in the final third.
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