It is hard not to feel a little bit sorry for Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke after his side’s lack of potency in the final third cost them against Burnley on Saturday.
The Championship champions were beaten 2-0 at Turf Moor by their fellow newly-promoted side after a two-week break for international duty, but it was far from a comfortable win for the home team.
Possession
31%
69%
Shots
4
19
Shots on target
3
4
xG
0.45
2.63
Big chances
1
4
Goalkeeper saves
4
1
Passes
292
615
As you can see in the table above, Leeds created 2.63 xG worth of chances and four ‘big chances’ to find the back of the net against Burnley, and they were unable to score a single goal.
Brenden Aaronson and Jayden Bogle, in particular, missed two very presentable opportunities to score, whilst Jack Harrison also blazed a good opening well over the bar.
Reporter Graham Smyth noted after deadline day that the club did not give Farke the attacking signings that he wanted in the transfer window, and the lack of quality in the final third is now costing the team.
On the flip side of that, though, the club did make plenty of defensive signings to bolster the squad, and the head coach picked Pascal Struijk in spite of his recent struggles.
Why Leeds should drop Pascal Struijk
Ahead of the trip to Burnley, Football FanCast suggested that the Dutch central defender should be on borrowed time if he flops against the Clarets, because of his form of late.
He was too easily beaten for both of the goals against Tottenham Hotspur in the last match before the break, as he gave Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus too much time and space to get their shots off.
Leeds paid £15m to sign Jaka Bijol from Udinese in the summer, seemingly to improve their defence, yet he has been an unused substitute in every single Premier League match this season.
Appearances
8
34
Tackles per game
0.8
1.3
Interceptions per game
0.3
1.1
Duels won per game
3.9
4.7
Ground duel success rate
50%
43%
Aerial duel success rate
49%
67%
As you can see in the table above, Bijol’s performances in the Serie A last season suggest that he would be a defensive upgrade on Struijk for the Whites.
The £50k-per-week Dutch defender seemed to get caught under the flight of the ball for the first goal, with a lack of communication between him and Joe Rodon, which gave Burnley a lead to hold on to.
Struijk’s aerial struggles were a theme throughout the 90 minutes on Saturday. Per Sofascore, the left-footed dud won just seven of his 13 aerial contests, which shows that he was too easily beaten in the air, something Bijol’s stats suggest he would not be.
This is why Farke should drop the Dutchman for the former Udinese colossus when West Ham United come to Elland Road in the next match.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Struijk is not the only player who should be dropped from the starting line-up because of their performance against Burnley, though, as Karl Darlow should also be removed from the side.
Why Leeds should drop Karl Darlow
The Wales international should finally be dropped from the team because of a string of shot-stopping performances that have not been up to the level of the Premier League.
There was not much that he could have done to save the header for the opening goal, but it was his misplaced kick that went straight out of play that Burnley created the cross for the goal from.
The second strike from Loum Tchaouna was an absolute screamer, at first glance. It was an impressive hit, there is no doubt about that, but on further inspection, Darlow could have done better. The ball went into the net roughly two yards inside the post but the goalkeeper could not move his feet to stretch and get his hand to it.
He was even worse than Struijk, who at least won five of his six ground duels and made four clearances (Sofascore), and should be in danger of losing his place in the side.
Per Sofascore, Darlow has conceded 2.69 more goals than expected across five appearances in the Premier League this season, which shows that he has significantly underperformed as a shot-stopper for the Whites.
The Welshman did put in an impressive display against Wolves, as shown in the clips above, but he has struggled in the matches since that win in the Midlands.
Former England, Norwich, and Southampton goalkeeper coach Dave Watson criticised Darlow’s performance against Spurs before the international break and suggested that he is “never going to push on” to help Leeds stay in the division, comparing his performance to Guglielmo Vicario’s.
Unfortunately for Darlow, Lucas Perri returned to the bench against Burnley after coming back from his injury setback, which means that Farke now has the player he signed to be his number one in the summer available to him.
Saves
119
Top 19%
Save percentage
72.5%
Top 31%
Goals prevented
6.05
Top 22%
Clean sheets
10
Top 16%
Acted as sweeper
12
Top 25%
High claims
26
Top 28%
As you can see in the table above, the Brazilian shot-stopper was one of the top-performing goalkeepers in Ligue 1 last season, with outstanding shot-stopping, sweeping, and cross-claiming.
Perri did not have the best start to the Premier League season, conceding 1.99 more goals than expected across three matches (Sofascore), but he did have to play against Arsenal in a 5-0 loss to the league leaders in those three games.
Farke must now finally drop Darlow from the XI after his recent struggles to bring the summer signing from Lyon back into the team, in the hope that he can finally translate his Ligue 1 performances over to the Premier League.
Farke can feel sorry for himself because of the lack of quality in the final third, as a result of the lack of recruitment in the summer, but he has the defensive and goalkeeper options to change things ahead of the clash with West Ham, and he needs to use them.