Fresh legs would help but that is not necessarily the main dagger that is killing Leeds United so late in games
Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter
05:00, 24 Feb 2026
Leeds United suffered late heartbreak again on Saturday
View 2 Images
Leeds United suffered late heartbreak again on Saturday(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Leeds United have been praised for their conversion from set-pieces this season and rightly so.
Their tally of 13 is the same amount that they managed throughout the whole of last season’s title-winning Championship campaign.
There is a reason why Leeds honed in on tall players this summer. Meanwhile, Anton Stach’s long-range missile at Aston Villa was their third direct free-kick of the season, having failed to register any last term.
It would be remiss to brand United as set-piece merchants given that two-thirds of their goals have come from open play - and also because they have a problem defending them too, something that has perhaps escaped the attention somewhat.
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search. Help us stay visible byadding us as a Preferred Source in your search settings.
Leeds have conceded 12 times from set-pieces, only one fewer than the amount they have scored from dead balls. That is the fifth-highest in the league. Even more galling is that this seems to be the source of why Leeds are losing points late in matches.
Of course, Villa’s equaliser through Tammy Abraham came from a corner, with the second ball latched onto and unorthodoxly dispatched. United have lost nine points from the 85th-minute onwards in games this season.
Putting aside those shipped late against West Ham and Nottingham Forest away - neither of which impacted the final result - four of the other five goals conceded after 95 minutes have technically come from set-piece phases.
The first and most astonishing was Gabriel Gudmundsson’s heartbreaking and bizarre own goal four minutes into stoppage time away at Fulham back in September. The ball had been whipped in from a corner and the defender had been off balance.
A fortnight on, a needless free-kick was conceded by Ao Tanaka, who had initially lost the ball too. As it happens, Ethan Ampadu kicked the ball away and received one of the yellow cards which would lead him to being suspended for January's clash against Manchester United.
Eli Kroupi leaves Leeds United heartbroken
View 2 Images
Eli Kroupi leaves Leeds United heartbroken(Image: Ed Sykes/Getty Images)
Leeds failed to deal with the ball in, with the free-kick flicked on for Eli Kroupi to expertly volley into the net in the 93rd-minute. It was another cruel blow yet United had seemed to learn their lesson for the next three months.
But then came the gut-wrenching defeat at Newcastle United. Perhaps with this game, we are delving into technicalities but the general point about concentration from late dead-balls still stands.
Bruno Guimaraes levelled the scores to 3-3 from the spot in the 91st minute when Brenden Aaronson was penalised for handball, Farke labelling this harsh while pointing the blame at the structure of the handball law.
If that was unfortunate then Harvey Barnes’ 102nd-minute strike was not, if you’re Lucas Perri. He ought to have saved the effort.
But all the same, Leeds did not deal with the ball into the box which had come from a short throw that was not properly tracked.
Farke underlined that Saturday’s concession at Villa was also due to ‘switching off’, with Joe Rodon failing to win his header before Abraham found the net. It's not the first time we have heard that phrase this season.
Leeds might well be fine this season but right now, relegation danger is far from over and this nagging habit is not helping their survival quest.
Article continues below
One common critique of Farke has been leaving it too long to make substitutions. This is a valid argument, especially in terms of trying to turn the tide back in Leeds’ favour with fresh legs.
But perhaps the more prominent issue is concentration from these last-gasp set-pieces. The two could go hand-in-hand yet these goals have been conceded while substitutes are on the pitch.
As ever, these pinch points are never black and white and are always multi-layered. Yet it’s undeniable that a fraction more nerve, composure and concentration from dead balls would have seen Leeds even higher than 15th and more than six points clear of the bottom three.