As Leeds United fans lament the lack of proactive changes made from the technical area, Unai Emery detailed a genius ploy to stage Aston Villa’s comeback on Sunday.

Many expected that the international break would be the ideal time for Leeds to pull the trigger and replace Daniel Farke.

That decision didn’t come, and the situation didn’t exactly improve. United have since slipped into the bottom three for the first time, with their points-per-game ratio dropping below 1.00 too.

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Daniel Farke again criticised for lack of proactive Leeds United changes

An ongoing concern of Leeds fans is that Farke has struggled to make the right subs at the right times this season. Nottingham Forest put United to the sword through a string of proactive changes to change the game for the better, only for Leeds to make their first subs once they were already behind.

Leeds, though, started the game much the better side. They were deserving of their 1-0 lead at half-time as they started in a much more aggressive mood, snuffing out Villa attacks on the front foot and getting their reward from a dead ball.

Daniel Farke under even more pressure as Leeds United lose to Aston Villa. (REUTERS/Chris Radburn)

Donyell Malen’s introduction instantly paid dividends after half-time, however. He assisted Morgan Rogers’ first of two to equalise. Then, Rogers put Villa in front from a free-kick that stemmed from a similar overload of Leeds’ backline, producing an important three points to move the Villans up to fourth.

Following Villa’s 48th-minute equaliser, it took Leeds 23 further minutes to make a change of their own beyond the enforced withdrawal of Anton Stach in the first half. Whilst Leeds fans watched on as we lost control of the match, fans in the South Stand sang “make a sub” aimed at the technical area.

Unai Emery reveals genius Aston Villa tactical switch to cut through Leeds United

Unai Emery had an ace up his sleeve during the interval that ultimately saw them through to victory from a goal down.

In the first half, Villa were setting up in a traditional 4-4-2 with Rogers supporting Ollie Watkins as a secondary striker. Rogers and Watkins, in truth, had a poor half together and didn’t make the ball stick as Villa tried to build attacks through the channels. Leeds’ back four’s job was made much easier by the lack of threat in behind from the two Villa men.

Unai Emery’s tactical decision flipped Aston Villa’s performance against Leeds United. (REUTERS/Chris Radburn)

In hooking Lucas Digne and Buendia at half-time, Emery turned to Ian Maatsen and (more importantly) Donyell Malen to partner Ollie Watkins more closely and run the channels better, allowing Rogers to operate between Leeds’ midfield and defence as a third attacking option.

Per WhoScored.com, Rogers’ four touches in Leeds third in the first half are massively outdone by Malen’s influence in the second, including his assist for the former.

Speaking after the game, Emery noted how he needed to ask a different question of Leeds’ defence in the second half. This change was his solution – via Jacob Tanswell on X:

“Asked Emery about Malen’s sub. He had identified Leeds being 2v2 at the back & wanted Rogers in the first half to threaten in behind along with Watkins. Said Malen ‘is better’ at doing this, so brought him on to really focus on capitalising on the space down the sides,” Tanswell reported.

Daniel Farke could never manipulate a Leeds United game in his favour to pick apart a side’s weakness

How brilliant must it feel for Villa to see their manager make a crucial tactical tweak to expose a growing weakness of Leeds’.

The flipside of that is this: are Leeds going to be able to pick apart any other side’s shortcomings with a shrewd change of approach?

Since we’ve been promoted, we’ve played in one formation from start to finish almost exclusively. The only time we’ve diverted is when we’ve thrown attackers on in a frantic effort to equalise.

We’ve built a squad that would benefit from pragmatism and a model that prides itself on trying to cope with different situations every week. Instead, we’re playing largely the same with the same personnel, which becomes much easier to deal with for a tactician of Emery’s standard.

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