There was only ever going to be one true winner on Saturday afternoon as Elland road played host to RB Leipzig and for two hours the old ground became a billboard for Red Bull in a way few of us have seen before. The cans in the concourses, the branding pitchside, the sheer saturation of that unmistakable bull logo across a stadium that has stood since 1897, all of it a reminder of how thoroughly the energy drink giant has folded football into its marketing machine over the past twenty years. Rules may prevent Red Bull rebranding Leeds United but it’s clear we are very much in their fold and a big part of their global marketing strategy.
On the pitch, Leeds won the game 2-0. Daniel Farke set his side up with a first half XI of Cairns in goal, Bogle, Ampadu as captain, Muharemović, Rodon and James across the back and midfield, with Longstaff, Calvert-Lewin, Wilson, Justin and Bornauw completing the line-up. At the break the manager made wholesale changes, sending on Gnonto, Cresswell, Aaronson, Nmecha, Bijol as captain, Stach, Tanaka, Chadwick and academy prospect Lienou, with Cairns the only man to see out the full two hours between the posts with James Trafford still ineligible. Minutes and match sharpness were definitely the priority over any real tactical insight ahead of the new season.
Leeds started in the ascendancy, an early corner should have yielded the opener when Longstaff's delivery was bundled home in a goalmouth scramble, only for the referee to chalk it off for a foul in the build up, and after that the game settled into the sort of pre-season rhythm where quality is at a premium and patience is required. Calvert-Lewin didn't need much of it, though, finishing coolly from close range inside the opening ten minutes after Rodon burst forward down the right, and by half time Leeds led 1-0 having had the better of the chances without ever taking total control. Wilson was probably the biggest frustration of the afternoon for those inside the ground, forcing a smart low save with a first time effort and then seeing another attempt blocked, without ever quite finding the finish his overall contribution deserved.
New signing Tarik Muharemović was the name on plenty of lips heading out of the ground, comfortable in possession and unafraid to step forward with the ball, and it is not hard to see why supporters are already talking about him as a potential fixture at the back for years to come. Bornauw looked similarly assured alongside him, which will only sharpen the debate about whether he should be allowed to leave this summer. Further forward, Gnonto look like a class above much of what surrounded him once he was introduced, setting up Nmecha's second with a driving run to the byline, and there is a growing sense among those who watched closely that he deserves more first team opportunities than he has been getting, if he doesn’t separate the club this summer that is.
The kids left an impression too. Jayden Lienou looks close to genuinely forcing his way into contention, Alfie Cresswell struck the crossbar and should have had his own goal, and Callum Mills showed the kind of instinctive flair and willingness to try things that had more than one supporter reaching for comparisons to a young, Jack Clarke, even if there was broad agreement he needs to add some physicality before Premier League defenders start treating him roughly. Stach, by contrast, looked some way off full match sharpness, a reminder that not every player arrives at this stage of pre-season in the same condition.
Attention now turns to two more tests before the serious business begins. Leeds travel to Dublin's Croke Park on Wednesday evening to face old foe Manchester United, a fixture that will draw a huge crowd and offer a proper measure of where Farke's side stand against Premier League opposition, before FC Augsburg visit Elland Road on Saturday for what will be the final chance to fine tune things ahead of the trip to Nottingham Forest on the opening weekend of the season proper.