Leeds United pulled off a statement 2-0 win over promotion rivals Sheffield United to move to second in the Championship on their return from the international break.
Goals from Pascal Struijk and Mateo Joseph ended Chris Wilder’s side’s unbeaten run in the league this season, with Leeds dominant at Elland Road as they moved joint-top of the table on Friday night.
United bagged bragging rights over their Yorkshire rivals as well as closing the gap on league leaders Sunderland, who are in action against Hull City on Sunday.
The Athletic picks out the key talking points after a vital victory for Daniel Farke’s side…
James and Solomon boost Farke’s options
After a hairy wait during the international break with 12 first-team players away with their national teams, Leeds were handed the boost of Manor Solomon and Daniel James both returning to action against Sheffield United. A hamstring injury had kept James sidelined since August’s 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday, while Tottenham Hotspur loanee Solomon had been absent with a back and hamstring complaint since a 1-0 defeat to Burnley in September.
Both returned to regular training during the break and came on as second-half substitutes against Sheffield United, playing a key role as Leeds pushed for a win. While losing defensive midfield pair Ilia Gruev and Ethan Ampadu to lengthy knee injuries presented a significant blow to Farke in the week leading up to the break, the return of these two wide players will offer a chance for rotation and variety in attack in the coming weeks.
While Largie Ramazani and Willy Gnonto’s performances have been impressive to the point of making them hard to drop, James and Solomon provide welcome competition and free up Ramazani and Gnonto to operate in more central roles if needed.
Mateo Joseph makes his case
Eleven minutes was all Mateo Joseph needed when coming off the bench to inject new heat into the competition to be Farke’s starting striker, having lost his place in the team to Joel Piroe in his team’s last two fixtures. Piroe had more than earned a chance after an impactful three goals in five games off the bench in the lead-up to being handed a start for the 2-2 draw against Sunderland earlier this month.
The Dutchman’s tally of four goals for the season makes him Leeds’ top scorer, but Joseph is in rich form, having netted a hat-trick for Spain’s under-21s over the break. The 20-year-old is a player full of confidence, who backs himself to be Farke’s main man this season after carving out a role for himself amid greater competition from Patrick Bamford last season. Bamford looks to be out of the picture for the sole starting striker position in Farke’s current system, with Piroe and Joseph’s qualities presenting a nice problem for their manager.
Piroe turned provider for Joseph with an expertly timed through ball for the latter to prod past Michael Cooper while under pressure from Sydie Peck. The finish was a true striker’s effort and was the Spaniard’s first since the 2-0 win over Hull City in August. While Joseph offers more to the wider team with his build-up play, Piroe has come into his own since being freed of the awkward shackles of playing in the No 10 position, which never sat naturally with the 25-year-old.
A goal from a corner at last
Corners have not been a rich area for goals for Leeds in recent times, but their opener through a Struijk finish finally ended that drought. Until Joe Rothwell’s low delivery into the area was met by the Dutchman, Sheffield United had capably handled Leeds’ deliveries from corners, but the training ground routine worked to perfection.
The last goal United scored directly from a corner in the Championship also came via centre-back Struijk against Ipswich on December 23, 2023, while captain Ampadu netted in the FA Cup a month later against Peterborough United. Leeds were one of only six sides in the 92 English league clubs yet to score from any kind of set piece this season coming into the game against Sheffield United, who had the best defensive record in the division.
Leeds fans unsurprisingly enjoyed their rare goal, with chants of ‘scored from a corner, we’ve only scored from a corner’ and ‘doo doo doo, we scored from a corner’ exchanged between the Kop and South stands.
“Happy days,” Farke said. “You know, since my first day, I’m insisting that set pieces are so important. Such a poor run is the first time in my career because normally, my teams are pretty much on top. I wasn’t happy last season with our deliveries. When we attacked the ball, it wasn’t great.
“I saw this goal coming because we were already excellent in pre-season, with three goals. During this season we are top of the league in terms of expected goals out of set pieces. It was just like: ‘Lads, do me a favour and bring the ball over the line to end this curse’. We need this sometimes against teams that are defending deep.
“Compliments to our guys on the coaching staff who worked on this set piece because this is more or less exactly as we planned it, with a low delivery into the area. It was crucial (on Friday) and we need a few more in this league.”
What next for Leeds?
Tuesday, October 22: Watford (H), Championship, 7.45pm UK (2.45pm ET)
(Top photo: Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
