Leeds United manager Daniel Farke sounded a familiar note after his side suffered a disheartening 2-0 defeat against Burnley in the Premier League.
Daniel Farke was left to rue his side’s lack of end product in a potentially damaging 2-0 Premier League defeat at Turf Moor, as Leeds failed to make their chances count.
An injury to Noah Okafor meant that Farke was forced to field two players who were regulars in Leeds’ last relegation season in 2022/23.
That selection came back to haunt the Leeds boss, as Brenden Aaronson missed the best chance of the game, firing straight at the keeper when in space in the penalty area.
Aaronson was brought to Leeds by Jesse Marsch, who departed before the end of the 22/23 season with Leeds staring down the barrel of relegation. Worryingly for Leeds fans, Farke’s post-match comments sounded similar to Marsch’s as he attempted to justify his side’s defeat.
Photo by Clive Mason/Getty ImagesDaniel Farke’s post-match comments are too similar to Jesse Marsch for comfort
Speaking to BBC West Yorkshire Sport at full-time of Leeds’ defeat against Burnley, Farke attempted to defend his side’s performance in defeat.
Leeds missed a string of big chances and dominated possession in the game, but fell to a 2-0 defeat. However, Farke attempted to take comfort from the post-match statistics, stating: “You can’t have a better statistic in an away game on this level.
“I think even in Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City will travel here, they won’t have a better statistic than us because we’re so dominant in all aspects, by far the better side, but the only thing that really matters is goals in football.”
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Farke now finds himself in a similar position to Marsch, as a promising start to the season looks to be slipping through his fingers, and his comments are eerily similar to Marsch’s after Leeds suffered a defeat against Crystal Palace in October 2022.
Leeds dominated the first half of the game but lost 2-1, and, speaking to BBC Sport after the game, Marsch said: “It was one of the best 45 minutes that we’ve had since I’ve been here. And the shame is to go in at halftime at 1 -1 when we’re clearly better in that phase and have big chances.
Before adding: “We’ve had moments in games where we’ve been on top of things and where we’ve been the better team through stretches, but we don’t score enough goals.
“So we’ve got to continue to find ways to be effective in the last third. We’ve got to continue to find ways to breed confidence and clarity as to what roles are.”
Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty ImagesLeeds United fall behind 2022/23 points total after eight games
Although Leeds remain outside of the bottom three after eight games, the defeat against Burnley means the gap is closing after a promising start for Farke’s side.
Leeds missed an opportunity to take points from a relegation rival against Burnley, and they have now fallen behind the points total accumulated by Marsch’s side at the same stage in their relegation season.
After eight games of the 2022/23 season, Leeds had amassed nine points with two wins, three draws and three defeats, culminating in the defeat against Crystal Palace.
At the same stage this season, Leeds have eight points, having won two, drawn two and lost four and sit just three points clear of the bottom three.
Although it is too early to suggest Farke is under pressure, the defeat against Burnley is cause for concern. He has to inspire a quick response from his side against West Ham to avoid falling to the same fate as Marsch.