Daniel Farke’s defiant Sunderland post-mortem highlights Leeds approach that must change
Daniel Farke’s comments in the wake of Leeds United’s loss to Sunderland shed light on the German’s safety-first approach.
After naming a side with two defensive midfielders in Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev, and five defenders, Farke sent the message that the Sunderland match was a must-not-lose encounter.
Sure enough, though, Leeds lost that crunch clash with Sunderland 1-0 at Elland Road on Tuesday night, with Habib Diarra’s 70th-minute penalty separating the two sides.
To make matters worse, 18th-placed West Ham beat Fulham on Wednesday to close the gap to the Yorkshire outfit to just three points, as the Premier League’s relegation battle intensifies.
Farke has done well to this point but there needs to be a mentality switch if Leeds are going to stay in the Premier League this season.
- Read more: Leeds United were set up for failure against Sunderland as Daniel Farke fails history lesson
Daniel Farke’s risk-taking warning is part of the problem
In Leeds’ New Year’s Day clash at Liverpool, Farke picked a defensively-minded team but managed to claim a goalless draw.
Away at Chelsea on 10 February, the German had five defenders at the back, in addition to playing right-back Jayden Bogle in a more advanced role, and Ampadu and Gruev anchored the midfield, too.
Leeds were fortunate to come back from 2-0 down at Stamford Bridge as the Blues imploded, but the fact that these negative line-ups worked shows Farke is quite risk-averse.
When things aren’t going his way, the former Norwich City boss will then throw on attackers, albeit later than most fans would like.
But first and foremost, his attitude is to not lose. And after the Sunderland draw, his safety-first method was plain to see.
He told reporters: “It was important not to lose nerves and to run into counter-attacks because this happens in the games when a team is taking too many risks.
“We wanted to keep the clean sheet because you’ve seen what happens if they go in the lead.
“It was really just stop and go afterwards because 27 times there was treatment on the pitch. This is what then happens. It’s important you are not in a losing position against Sunderland. Otherwise, they are smart, if you want to label it smart, also in the game management, and what happens is so, so difficult.”
Farke insisted that the way Leeds set up and their performance merited at least a draw and that it was “crucial” not to give away chances and to dominate possession.
He added: “Do we want to have more than 20 shots, or nearly 20 shots, and, whatever, 10 corner kicks and the same amount of wide-area free kicks and good situations? What can we do if the penalty is not given for Pascal Struijk?”
Farke deserves a lot of credit for turning Leeds’ season around after November and making them competitive in practically every game they’ve played, while showing tactical flexibility along the way.
But if Leeds want to stay up, they need to take the handbrake off a bit more, as West Ham and Forest close in on the Whites.
Will Leeds’ home form be enough to secure survival?
Prior to the home defeats to Manchester City and Sunderland, Leeds’ record at Elland Road was mid-table-like.
Now, they are down to 13th in the home results table, with 22 points from 15 matches. Conversely, they have the third-worst away record in the division, with nine points chalked up from 14 games.
On paper, Leeds have an easier run-in than some of their relegation rivals but the recent form of lowly West Ham and Wolves suggests that the fixture list may mean little in the coming months.
After hosting Norwich City in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday and travelling to lowly Crystal Palace on 15 March, Leeds can gear up for home matches against Europe-chasing Brentford, relegation-threatened Wolves and Burnley, and Brighton.
If they win all these games, Leeds are likely to be safe. But if not, they may need extra points on the road. Leeds have dropped a lot of points from winning positions this season, and perhaps their tentative approach when protecting leads has paved the way to that. If Farke can evolve again, he and Leeds will be better for it
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