Good Morning. It's Tuesday 15th September, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Leeds move third after blistering performance
There are victories that earn you three points, and then there are victories that make the rest of the Premier League sit up and take notice; last night we saw the latter. Under the Elland Road lights, Daniel Farke’s side did not simply beat Newcastle, they overwhelmed them, and produced the sort of performance that makes you wonder just how high the ceiling might be for Leeds United this season. The Whites dominated the first half-hour but had little to show for their efforts.The game exploded into life in the 32nd minute, when Ao Tanaka’s effort from the edge of the area took a double deflection and left Lukas Horníček with no chance. Once they had breached the goal, the floodgates opened. Less than three minutes later it was 2-0. Jayden Bogle was credited with the second after Dominic Calvert-Lewin rose highest in the Newcastle penalty area, and powered his header past Hornicek.
Elland Road was rocking from the rafters, but then came the killer. Deep into first-half stoppage time, the former Toffee made it 3-0, finishing calmly across goal like it was a pre-season game. Remarkably, it was already the striker’s eighth career goal against Newcastle, the same number Harvey Barnes has scored against Leeds. With James Trafford between the sticks for the home side, though, the former Leicester City man never looked like adding to his tally.
Leeds were not interested in simply protecting their lead. On 59 minutes, Noah Okafor made it 4-0, finishing another Leeds attack and turning what had already been an excellent night into a demolition. Bazoumana Touré eventually pulled one back in the 90th minute, but nobody inside Elland Road particularly cared. The statistics underline how impressive Leeds had been. They finished with 15 shots to Newcastle’s seven, edged possession 51%-49%, and produced an expected-goals figure of 1.96 compared with Newcastle’s 0.77. More importantly, they looked like the stronger, quicker and hungrier side.
Leeds no longer just 'hard to beat'
Last season was about survival. Farke stumbled on a formula that made Leeds extremely difficult to beat, and the physicality and work-rate of his side became its greatest strengths. Now we are beginning to see something else. The aggression, running and willingness to compete for every loose ball are still there, but there is considerably more quality attached to them. Farke also had Harry Wilson, Brenden Aaronson, Lucas Nmecha, Daniel James and Melvin Bard available from the bench. That is depth Leeds have simply never possessed since the Ridsdale era.There was something else significant about the Newcastle performance that we did not see last season, Leeds looked as though they expected to beat them. Lets not get ahead of ourselves; nobody needs to start booking European away trips just yet, four matches is four matches but the Elland Road faithful are entitled to enjoy what they are seeing. Eight points from four games. Unbeaten. Third in the Premier League. Four goals against Newcastle.
Perhaps most encouragingly, it does not feel as though Leeds have scraped their way there. There appears to be a proper Premier League side developing. Last season we asked whether Leeds had enough to survive. After watching them dismantle Newcastle 4-1, the question is beginning to change. Just how good could this Leeds United side actually be?
Sums last night’s performance up perfectly.
