Alan Pardew reveals Daniel Farke regret for decision he made in Leeds draw vs Sunderland
Daniel Farke will be proud of how his Leeds side performed in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland.
Simon Adingra opened the scoring for Sunderland, before Dominic Calvert-Lewin equalised early in the second half after Brenden Aaronson’s low cross.
Both sides pushed for a winning goal, but ultimately Leeds and Sunderland had to share the spoils in an entertaining contest at the Stadium of Light.
The result leaves the Whites 16th in the Premier League table, and with 18th-placed West Ham losing 1-0 to Fulham on Saturday, supporters are growing more optimistic that they can avoid relegation this season as they open up a seven-point gap on the drop zone.
However, Farke may have to take some responsibility for the dropped points as Pardew believes that how he handled Joe Rodon’s injury cost Leeds dearly for Sunderland’s opener.
Daniel Farke should have taken Joe Rodon off immediately
After being on the receiving end of tough challenges from both Brian Brobbey and Adingra, Rodon looked uncomfortable but decided to carry on as Sunderland had an attacking throw-in.
He failed to clear his lines effectively before playing Adingra onside as he struggled to push up the pitch alongside his defence.
Speaking on Sky Sports at half-time, former Palace boss Pardew said Farke will be regretting the decision to leave Rodon on the pitch, despite being visibly injured.
He said: “Rodon’s a warrior for them, but without a doubt, that injury has impacted the goal.
“He would have set off a little bit earlier; he would have made more effort at the end.
“It’s one of those decisions at half-time that the manager will be thinking ‘maybe I should have taken him off.'”
Jamie Redknapp added: “You can’t be upset with a player that wants to stay on, but Farke is probably thinking that they wouldn’t concede if he had come off.”
Rodon was subbed off for Ao Tanaka immediately after Adingra’s goal, meaning Leeds played with four at the back for the majority of the game.
How did Leeds fare when changing to four at the back?
Leeds’ change to a 3-5-2 tactic in December has completely changed their fortunes under Farke, and they’ve extended their unbeaten run to five matches.
The one instance it didn’t work was in Leeds’ 3-3 draw with Liverpool on 6 December, and Farke decided to revert to a 4-3-3 formation, where they went on to dominate the reigning champions in the final 20 minutes of that game.
Rodon’s omission from the match left Farke repeating that move, and the Peacocks dominated large periods of the game against the Black Cats.
It showed that Leeds clearly have two different game plans that can be incredibly effective in certain scenarios, and that bodes well for their ambitions to stay in the top flight.
With games against Liverpool and Man United to come at the start of 2026, Farke’s side are beginning to develop a streak of unpredictability that could leave them well-placed to provide some shocks.
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