Everything Wayne Rooney said about ‘brave’ Leeds United on Match of the Day vs Aston Villa
Wayne Rooney was left impressed with Leeds United in their 1-1 draw against Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.
Daniel Farke’s side dropped two points late on at Villa Park, with Tammy Abraham scoring in the 88th minute to cancel out Anton Stach’s brilliant free-kick.
While the result means that the Whites are still six points clear of the drop zone, they’ll view it as a huge missed opportunity to claim their second away win of the campaign.
However, Rooney was still full of compliments for Leeds and Farke, despite the fact that they didn’t secure all three points.
- Read more: Anton Stach free-kick masterclass for Leeds United all the more remarkable after new admission
Wayne Rooney blown away by effective Leeds press
The trip to Villa Park was certainly one of the tougher fixtures on Leeds’ calendar, but they were fearless throughout the 90 minutes.
They suffocated Unai Emery’s side in their own half for the majority of the game, with the Whites going for a man-to-man pressing system that worked very effectively.
According to Sofascore, Leeds had two big chances compared to Villa’s one, and it’s clear that Farke’s game plan worked brilliantly.
| Aston Villa | Stat | Leeds |
| 67% | Possession | 33% |
| 16 | Shots | 14 |
| 1.46 | xG | 1.35 |
| 85% | Pass accuracy | 71% |
Speaking on Match of the Day on 21 February, Rooney was full of praise for Leeds‘ discipline throughout the match at Villa Park.
He said: “They were really organised, disciplined and brave. They were in a block and cut the space out in the middle of the pitch, which forced Villa wide.
“[Ethan] Ampadu and Stach, who were brilliant by the way, organised the press. There was nowhere for Villa to go. Leeds have been very good over the last few months, and with [Dominic] Calvert-Lewin up front, they have someone who can score the goals.”
Once again, Farke got his tactics spot on, but Leeds have conceded another late goal away from home, which has hurt their points total.
Leeds have a mentality issue away from home
The Elland Road outfit have dropped 10 points from winning positions away from home in the Premier League this season, with only Bournemouth having dropped more (13).
If it weren’t for late goals conceded to the likes of Villa, Fulham and Man City this season, then the Whites would be comfortably safe from relegation.
Leeds have now lost just two of their last 16 matches across all competitions, which shows how tough they’ve been to beat for a newly promoted side.
However, with 18th-placed West Ham picking up similar points every week too, Leeds can’t afford to keep drawing these away games, and Saturday’s clash showed the lack of mentality they have when trying to hold onto a lead.
Farke needs to address this quickly, but if he doesn’t, then the Peacocks could find themselves much closer to the relegation zone.
And they’ll be looking back on these points dropped away from home with a lot of regret, but for now, let’s celebrate how far they’ve come.
For more in-depth coverage on Leeds, fans can visit Football Insider and have a look at their content.