More misery was piled on Leeds United as Aston Villa came from behind to win at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon.

United returned from the international break looking to bounce back from four losses in their last five games. They faced an Aston Villa side on a run of eight wins in their last 10 across all competitions.

What Daniel Farke needed was a rip-roaring start and a crowd up for the occasion. He got that in the first half as United went into half-time deservedly a goal to the good, but the second half saw the Villans flip the game on its head.

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Leeds United lose 2-1 to Aston Villa as worrying form continues in relegation zone

A big issue that Leeds have encountered of late has been their struggles in the final third have not been backed up by a solid defence.

So, when Leeds aggressive forced their way into the lead as Lukas Nmecha bundled in an opener from a set piece, there was cause for optimism. Villa didn’t want to know in the first half. They were pressed into mistakes and got very little joy in the Whites’ half outside of a nearly magnificent curler from Ollie Watkins.

A double sub after the interval, though, instantly brought Villa back on level terms. Donyell Malen wrapped a low cross into Morgan Rogers for 1-1. On 75 minutes, Rogers doubled his tally to take the lead as a questionable free-kick somehow left Lucas Perri rooted, ending up going down the middle of the goal.

Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers celebrates scoring the winner against Leeds United. (REUTERS/Chris Radburn)

Leeds thought they’d levelled it when substitute Dan James’ effort was turned in by Dominic Calvert-Lewin. However, the Leeds No.9 used his arm to divert the shot and it was chalked off.

Full-time came and meant Leeds take their place in the bottom three after 12 games played, just days on from Farke noting that we’d never been in the bottom three.

Similar issues persist for Daniel Farke as bizarre Leeds United team selection catches criticism

The problems started at 12:45pm for Leeds. I wrote this morning that it could be make or break for Farke today based on the lineup he names.

Lo and behold, James was again overlooked for the starting lineup as Brenden Aaronson unsurprisingly kept his spot. It took until the 71st minute for James to be brought off the bench. At which point, United’s attack all of a sudden had a new lease of life to it. Imagine my shock.

Jayden Bogle thrived more with a winger who could stretch the Villa back line. And, James himself got in behind multiple times, teeing up what he thought was an equaliser.

However, after two starts and good performances for Wales, James’ introduction was 20 minutes too late off the bench. But, in actual fact, it was 71 minutes too late because he should have started.

Daniel Farke faces even more scrutiny as Leeds United manager. (REUTERS/Chris Radburn)

The Ao Tanaka decision caught attention too. Replacing the stricken Anton Stach in the first half, Tanaka came on and was the best player on the pitch. Only, he was then hooked in the second half as he walked a tightrope on a booking and committing fouls.

There’s rationale to taking Tanaka out, avoiding the risk of him being sent off. But again, it’s a risk-averse method that Leeds could have done without when the game was there for the taking against a poor Villa showing.

Tanaka was the best part about Leeds’ performance today. But, he was instantly hooked the moment there was a sniff of risk about his position in the game. Ultimately, it ruined any cohesion we had between the lines.

Spotted: The two Leeds United chants that make matters worse for Daniel Farke

Tension was already there going into the game, and team selection from Farke didn’t help matters. In fact, omitting James made it worse.

So, when we watched on as Villa grew into the second half, and made multiple subs to flip the game in their favour, Farke did nothing.

Just prior to the 71st minute, chants rang around of “make a sub”. It further cemented the discontent around the lack of in-game management to a Premier League standard.

At full-time, it was pointed out by Graham Smyth that as the players and Farke walked past the Kop, they were greeted with a chorus of “you don’t know what you’re doing”.

Again, it underlines that there’s been a sizeable shift from a large portion of the fanbase now.

It’s hard to work your way back from fans being vocal in their discontent. It’s not quite at ‘sacked in the morning’ levels, but optimism in Farke being the man to turn things around largely vanished amongst those at Elland Road today.