After the international break, Leeds United will be ready to go when they return to Championship action. Following their recent tie at the Stadium of Light, the Whites are now in fifth place in the league, just three points behind Sunderland, the current leaders.
Despite Illan Meslier’s late gaffe that cost his team two points on the road, Daniel Farke was not too critical of his team’s performance against the Wearsiders. Even though a victory would have put the Whites within one point of the Championship summit, their campaign was off to a strong start.
Leeds is favoured by many to win the championship because they only missed out on promotion the previous year and because several managers have praised Farke’s team over the first three months of the current campaign.
Portsmouth’s John Mousinho.
After their thrilling 3–3 draw at Elland Road, Mousinho stated Premier League managers ought to try to get some of Leeds United’s best players before the summer transfer window ends.
“The lads gave everything and I think Leeds know they have been in a game today and that is the most important thing,” he stated. “It breaks our hearts to lose. Overall, I believe that was a really good point because Leeds most likely deserved to win. They are, in my opinion, an exceptional side with some exceptional people.
“Over the next three weeks, a few players worth millions of pounds could play there. After tonight, if I were the manager of the Premier League, I would most probably sign a number of them.”
Middlesbrough’s Michal Carrick.
Speaking prior to the first-round Carabao Cup match, Michael Carrick, the manager of Boro, called United’s team a “fantastic squad”. Fantastic set of players, both individually and collectively, he remarked. By going so far and being so close to the Premier League, they demonstrated that.”
Both teams started with significantly different lineups, and Boro emerged victorious 3-0 thanks to goals from Josh Coburn, Delano Burgzorg, and Anfernee Dijksteel in the second half.
Albion de West Bromwich Carlos Corberan.
Following the goalless stalemate at The Hawthorns, Corberan spoke highly of United’s prospects of winning back a spot in the top division. “When you are watching previous game of Leeds, for me, they didn’t win the previous games, not for the lack of chances,” stated. “Yes, their inaccuracy in their big-time opportunities cost them the victory.
“And because Leeds has some of the finest players in the division, I think it’s vital that the team has lessened their chances and that we have given them a new sense of identity.
“But now I think there are changing, like we all teams are suffering, but I see the base of Leeds being a strong team in the competition, something that for me, the last year didn’t happen.”
The Sheffield Wednesday’s Danny Röhl.
The German acknowledged that a better team defeated the Owls at Hillsborough. “You saw a good, high-caliber Leeds side,” he stated. It shouldn’t be used as an excuse, but I believe there were times when you noticed the difference.
“You have to make a lot of mistakes when playing against a formidable Leeds team, and perhaps, in certain circumstances, you might need a little bit of luck. In particular, the second goal we gave up is far too simple; it’s a five on one scenario, and if we stick to one line, we’ll cover for our teammates. At that point, it’s challenging to accept anything because our opponent is so formidable.
“You can always give up goals to them, and they did a good job on the first one, but even on this goal, there are times when you have to defend differently, and that’s what we have to do.
Overall, it was challenging and they had control over the game. However, it’s important to display resilience when playing against a formidable opponent, and you occasionally need to stick together as a unit when things go wrong. This is typical and what we should learn from the match.”
Tim Walter’s Hull City: Mateo Joseph and substitute Joel Piroe’s goals gave Hull City United their first home victory of the year. Tigers head coach Walter stated, “At the end, you are losing over here two nil and you are frustrated.” “The Leeds team is strong.
“Because the coach has been there longer, they are much further along than we are in their philosophy, and that’s why I’m really frustrated because in the end, it’s not necessary to lose over here.”
Burnley’s Scott Parker.
The Clarets manager was pleased with the work done with the Whites prior to the Elland Road encounter. He remarked, “It’s a big test for us against a very good side.” They certainly made some changes in the summer, but most of the players have been there for a while. Overall, they have a rather stable roster.
It’s a very challenging work; from the outside, some people perceive it as simply the squad, which offers you a fantastic opportunity, but there are a lot more factors involved. I have the utmost respect for Daniel and the job he has done in leading a team out of this league multiple times. They were just almost defeated in a 50/50 game the previous season, but he has a very strong squad there.
Bulut Erol – Cardiff City.
Then-Cardiff manager Erol Bulut stated, “We knew how important and difficult the game would be,” following his team’s easy defeat by Leeds. “The strategy was to remain compact and deny them many opportunities, responding when we could.
We were disadvantaged by the red card and the early concession. It’s not simple to play like this against Leeds. In the first half, we invited them to take some chances. Far too many simple errors. They will take chances if you invite them to do so. Our group made a great effort.”
He criticised Calum Chambers, the defender, for his error in the build-up to United’s second goal. Bulut continued, “We knew Leeds would control the game.” “We wanted counterattacks to succeed for this reason. We made a lot of simple, insignificant errors. making errors in passing. We didn’t make any runs in behind or ask for the ball.
Robins, Mark – Coventry City.
Following the team’s 3-0 loss to the Whites, Coventry City manager Mark Robins stated, “The fans expect them to kick on and go up.” “We are not like Leeds.
“This summer, Leeds sold talent valued at over £100 million and replaced it with players of high calibre. When it comes to fostering the development of young players, all clubs operate similarly. Leeds should be there or thereabouts since they have elite players.
“If you commit too soon, they damage you in certain areas. It wasn’t the game plan to sit deep when you got the ball back. We did not play the game as much as we would have liked to. The ball is of poor quality.
“The mentality of choosing the simple solution over the best one at the time. That’s not what we did very well. It’s simpler to start playing while behind 3-0 because there’s no pressure and the game is over.”
Thorup Johannes Hoff – Norwich.
Johannes Hoff Thorup, the manager of Norwich City, acknowledged that his team was far from overwhelming a team like Leeds. “So much intensity,” he remarked. There is a lot going on. With Leeds on the ball, then us, then them, then us again, the game occasionally changed. All in all, [everything] went as planned.
“We generated some opportunities and posed a danger on the counters. During that specific moment in the game, I believe I would have preferred a little more bravery on the ball. I’m defending myself far too much. The team responded quite strongly after we gave up. We are still far from being able to control a Leeds game like this. They performed admirably.
“When I saw the players in the eyes prior to the game, I got the impression that they thought we could win by three points, and that’s what I think you witnessed in the stands. We took our chances, aware that there would be times during the game when we needed to defend; perhaps we stayed in our low block too long, but that’s the nature of things when playing a formidable team like Leeds. This was on par with our finest performance of the entire season, in my opinion.”
Regis Le Bris of Sunderland.
“We are happy with the outcome because it was a difficult game against a strong team,” Le Bris stated following the final siren. “We played very well in the beginning, creating lots of opportunities for goals and imbalances [for Leeds].” After that, I believe we struggled to maintain possession.
We played in a 5-4-1 formation, which I believe was a bad decision since it made it hard to defend our box and create pressure. We played defence in the last third, and if you make a mistake here, the opposition can score rapidly.
“We changed to a 4-4-2 formation after the first goal, and I believe it was a better decision because we dominated possession the most of the time. We didn’t have many opportunities, and I believe that the second half of the game was influenced by weariness. We were having trouble coming up with a way to play, but we still wanted to.
“They chose to play long, and while we often won the first contact, Leeds always won the second, so we still need to work on improving our second ball. They made something with the second ball. Even if the goal was fortunate, I believe we deserved to draw because of how well we were able to adjust our strategy and the overall balance of the game.”
