Play a high line against Leeds United at your peril.
Swansea City learnt that lesson in a frantic 4-3 win for Daniel Farke’s side on Sunday, where pacy runs and a clever ability to beat the offside trap proved to be the difference for the visitors. It was a refreshingly entertaining game in which Swansea stuck to their principles and were happy to take the game to Leeds — and were it not for the efficiency of Dan James and his fellow forwards, it might have paid off.
This was not a defensive masterclass from Leeds, but their front line were firing, often played through by players further back. Unlocking space behind Swansea’s high line was crucial to the win — something that Farke revealed was always part of the plan, particularly with James’ pace at his disposal. Few teams set up this way against Leeds, leading to frustrating games where they have needed to show patience against a low block to prise an opening. The Swansea trip was a fine chance to unleash the attacking talents of James, Manor Solomon and, off the bench, Willy Gnonto.
“I was hoping (that Dan James’ pace would be so important), because Swansea play with a high last row and we wanted to use his pace to explore the space in behind them, perhaps even more than is possible against some other deep-sitting sides,” Farke said. “That was the idea, but to deliver three assists in total and a spirited performance… you’re hoping for this, but credit to Daniel that he was there with such a crucial influence.”
James was a handful throughout the game and provided his trio of assists — one of which was for a Ben Cabango own-goal — against his boyhood club from a start on the right wing. Swansea manager Luke Williams’ assessment that Leeds made “great actions over the top” was seen time and again, with balls over or through his back line proving easy.
Leeds gave Swansea an early warning in the 11th minute with an early chance for Solomon — who eventually scored twice. Pascal Struijk, often Leeds’ playmaker from deep even against those opponents who offer less freedom in behind, was at the heart of distributing play into the channels and final third. The stills below show that early chance coming from Struijk’s ball out to left-back Sam Byram, who had pushed on into a position right up against Swansea’s back line.
Farke likes his full-backs to be attack-minded, and this game was perfect for Byram and Jayden Bogle.
The first still of the three above shows Swansea’s back four of Josh Tymon, Harry Darling, Cabango and Josh Key holding a high, flat line, allowing three Leeds players (Byram, Solomon and Joel Piroe) to start their runs level with the defence and set them moving back towards their own goal. In this instance, Key was able to recover to get a touch on Byram’s cutback to Solomon, altering the flight of the ball. Solomon was forced to adjust his feet quickly and his eventual shot was off target.
Two of Leeds’ goals — Gnonto’s 91st-minute winner and Solomon’s second, which made it 3-2 to Leeds on 73 minutes — showed their ability to time runs to perfection and exploit space in behind. While Swansea players appealed for offside in both cases as play developed, Williams had little argument with the calls.
“I’ve been told by people who watched those actions back that they were marginal but onside,” he said. “That’s the top-level football, those margins. That’s why they brought in VAR, because too many games were being decided on very small margins. That’s what the best players will do.
“They can play on very fine margins and still not make mistakes. They can play with speed and precision, which is so difficult. They’ve made the action just right, so on the pitch it feels like you can’t believe that a player is that advanced and is onside. But they were both onside and we can’t be frustrated at the officials when they got it right.”
The still below shows Gnonto’s winner as he is played through by James, with Darling (centre, top) rooted to the spot and playing him onside. It was a close call but reflects the pace of thought and movement Leeds’ ambitious squad can produce.
Likewise, for Solomon’s second goal, Struijk was once again the creator as he played a ball over the top for Byram. While the left-back is out of frame in the first image below, he covers ground quickly and is onside with plenty of space to target, given Swansea’s narrow back four. As in the example above from the 11th minute of the game, the combination of players — Struijk to Byram to Solomon — and Leeds’ ability to run at goal is the same and provided the conditions for a simple but well-taken goal.
On the right side, Bogle was equally effective, both with overlapping runs and when moving into central midfield areas to play through balls for James. The below example shows him picking up possession after a pass forward by Joe Rodon. Bogle read James’ run, with left-back Tymon stepping up to try to press him and Darling and Cabango left to deal with four Leeds players swarming the box once James had carried it forward.
James, looking for Piroe, sent in a cross and Cabango turned the ball into his own net.
Though simple in execution, Leeds’ success in front of goal against Swansea required perfect timing and preparation for beating the offside trap, as well as a resilience to fight back given the exchange of goals between the two teams.
Farke showed that his football can be fun as well as functional, both of which are good traits in a team with promotion ambitions.
(Photo: Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)
