Daniel Farke
Leeds United have come so far as a team this season; for a side that was tipped to be relegated, they have put up a good fight. And with 11 games to go, they stand a real chance of securing their place in the Premier League next season.
A lot of this should be attributed to the turnaround in form towards the end of last year. Daniel Farke finally found a system that brought the best out of some players, and the football they played in those few months was the best they have been all season.
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As it stands, they look like the most consistent team near the bottom of the table – too many clubs around them are unstable. Some have sacked their head coaches, and others are considering the same. But Leeds stood by Daniel Farke in December, and he has delivered.
Daniel Farke will be delighted by Unai Emery’s words after Saturday’s draw
Saturday’s game against Aston Villa was yet another game against a big team that the Whites showed their quality. They matched the home side in everything they did, and were very unlucky not to come away with all three points as Tammy Abraham scored a late equalizer. After the game, Unai Emery shared his thoughts on his team only managing to get a draw against the Whites:
“It’s not the best result and not the worst, when we were losing in the 89th minute 1-0, to draw this match was something fantastic, but we must be positive, we must accept this result. In the Premier League, every team they are showing their capacity, how difficult this Premier League is for us.”
Saturday’s result sees Villa drop points in their pursuit of the top two, and Leeds going one point behind Crystal Palace.
READ MORE: ‘Absolutely sensational…’ – Leeds fans are all saying the same thing after Anton Stach’s freekick against Aston Villa
Farke has found the formula away from home
After a poor run in the first few months of the season, Daniel Farke seems to have found a way for his side to be very effective away from home. His setup in the Chelsea game was poor, but he made up for it in the second half. The tactics against Aston Villa were spot on throughout the game.
The home side never found an easy pass and were closed down anytime they had space on the ball. Unai Emery’s men were limited to crosses for a large part of the game, with Leeds threatening anytime they took the ball of an Aston Villa player. For a coach who was criticised for his tactics early in the season, he had done a massive job in the last few weeks.