Daniel Farke and Leeds United were beaten by Southampton at Wembley

Simon Grayson says Southampton showed 'better quality' in Leeds United victory

Jonny is a University of Leeds journalism graduate who became part of the FootballInsider team in Spring 2024, and recently worked as Head of Media for Widnes Vikings Rugby League club. Writing as a freelance reporter and commentator for The Sporting News and StatsPerform, he has covered matches in competitions including the FIFA Men's and Women's World Cups, as well as the Champions League, Women's Euro 2022, Six Nations and the Rugby Union World Cup.

Published on:

04 May 2024, 4:10 pm

Leeds United were exposed by Southampton's "high-risk football" in their 2-1 final-day loss at Elland Road, according to Simon Grayson.

Grayson, on co-commentary for BBC Radio Leeds (4 May, 13:48), said that Southampton were a "hard" team for the Whites to face on the final day, as their chances of automatic Championship promotion came to an end.

Leeds equalised in the first half just minutes after Southampton had taken the lead, but the visitors were back in front just before half-time and held on for the entirety of the second period.

Grayson said: "This was going to be such a hard team to play against.

"You don't want a team that plays high-risk football, that can destroy you if you aren't careful."

Leeds United set for play-offs after final day defeat

Leeds United went into their 46th and final match of the Championship season needing to beat Southampton, while also hoping that second-placed Ipswich suffered a shock home loss to Huddersfield Town.

However, neither game went to plan for Daniel Farke's side. Ipswich cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Huddersfield and rubber-stamped their place in the top two as a result, while Leeds couldn't find a way back into their home game against Southampton.

Daniel Farke must now navigate a Championship play-off semi-final between Leeds United and his former side Norwich City.

Adam Armstrong's opener was cancelled out almost immediately by Joel Piroe's close-range finish, but Southampton broke through once more late in the first half, with Kyle Walker-Peters catching Junior Firpo napping to tee up Smallbone's winner.

With the dreaded play-offs, which Leeds have never been promoted from, now confirmed, Farke's side need to get over their late-season slump in form as soon as possible, with a two-legged semi-final tie against Norwich City coming up in just a matter of days.

In other Leeds United news, a teenage sensation looks set to snub Manchester United in order to move to Elland Road.

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