Daniel Farke must learn from Sunderland mistakes ahead of Norwich City reunion at Leeds
Daniel Farke needs to be braver and trust his wider squad ahead of facing Norwich City.
Leeds had a brutal reality check in the Premier League on Tuesday night as they suffered a frustrating 1-0 defeat to Sunderland.
Farke‘s side dominated possession and chances but were unable to break down a resolute Sunderland outfit at Elland Road.
The German fielded a team that was quite defensive, including Ilia Gruev and Ethan Ampadu in midfield, and their lack of creativity came back to haunt them against Regis Le Bris’s men.
As the season progresses, it is becoming clearer which individuals Farke favours, while certain players are increasingly being pushed to the fringes.
Ahead of a fifth-round FA Cup tie at home to Norwich City on Sunday, Farke needs to give his wider squad a chance to earn some game time, as that could help them in their relegation fight.
Farke needs to take the handbrake off at Leeds
While Leeds had the majority of the ball and 18 shots to Sunderland’s three, the visitors were not stretched in the way that they should have.
Indeed, Leeds didn’t muster a shot on goal in the second half until the 73rd minute – three minutes after Habib Diarra’s penalty put the away team ahead.
As the season progresses, players such as Dan James, Wilfried Gnonto, Sean Longstaff, and Ao Tanaka are being limited to cameo roles at best.
Farke should be praised for making Leeds competitive and guiding them to just three defeats over three months, but that can’t go on.
But if you want to survive in the Premier League, you need to constantly evolve and adapt. One matchday plan can be old news the next time a fixture rolls around.
Similarly, by sticking with largely the same contingent of players so often, some of their backup options are likely to be less sharp when called upon off the bench. It can be an impossible task keeping every player happy when there are just 11 starting spots and five substitutions available each match.
But Farke’s safety-first approach needs tweaking. And Sunday’s game against Championship side Norwich presents a fine opportunity for the German to give some of his outsiders some much-needed minutes.
They didn’t really do that away at Birmingham City in round four of the FA Cup in February, but this is a great chance to increase the wealth of options Farke has at his disposal for the Premier League run-in.
Farke has been commended for switching from 4-3-3 to 3-5-2 and showing signs of progressing and improving on the job. If he wants to keep his position for next season, the former Norwich boss will have to do that again in the coming months.
Norwich City test takes on different complexion for Leeds
If Leeds had beaten Sunderland, they would have gone nine points clear of 18th-placed West Ham. As it is, that gap remains at six points.
If West Ham beat Fulham at Craven Cottage on Wednesday night, Leeds will be within one Hammers victory of parity. That is a scary thought for Leeds fans.
If they had downed the Black Cats, Farke may have been tempted to name a stronger side for the Norwich game, with Premier League safety looking more assured.
Now, though, the German may be tempted to rotate a bit more, just to give his first-teamers an extra rest before a huge clash away at lowly Crystal Palace on 15 March.
Leeds’ priority will be to stay in the Premier League, with an FA Cup run a bonus.
It remains to be seen how seriously Farke will take the Norwich game, with the Canaries enjoying a renaissance under manager Philippe Clement.
The Leeds manager became Farke 2.0 in the past few months. He may need to become Farke 3.0 to keep them up this season.
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