Daniel Farke on why Leeds United waited to change things up at Everton

Daniel Farke on why Leeds United waited to change things up at Everton

Daniel Farke explained his reluctance to make early second-half substitutions at Everton, insisting he felt Leeds United were still in control despite the hosts enjoying large spells of possession.

The Leeds boss hailed his side’s first-half display as one of their best away performances of the season, a claim backed up by a dominant showing that saw them take a deserved lead and threaten to extend it. Dominic Calvert-Lewin came closest to a second, only to see his effort strike the post.

Everton’s tactical adjustment after the break, however, swung the balance of possession and forced Leeds into a 5-4-1 shape they struggled to escape from. Even so, the pressure resulted in little more than a superb Karl Darlow save from Thierno Barry, a well-taken equaliser from the striker, and an Idrissa Gana Gueye effort that rattled the crossbar. Farke eventually switched to a 4-2-3-1 in the closing stages as Leeds chased a winner, but the contest ended level at 1-1.

“It was a difficult situation because Everton changed to a back three and defensively we didn’t really have a problem – it was more the other way around,” Farke said. “We still controlled large parts of the game, but against a team of their quality you will always face moments, and we lost a bit of control in possession.”

The Leeds manager admitted he considered changing shape earlier to regain dominance but felt the risks outweighed the potential rewards.

“I even thought about taking a centre-back off earlier to go to a 4-3-3,” he added. “But you have two key defenders missing in Jaka Bjol and Gabi Gudmundsson, you had a clean sheet in the previous game, and after 60 minutes you were defending really well. To change that while leading would have been madness.

“Afterwards you can always say it might have been better, but you never really know. What the lads have done defensively, not just in this game but also the last one, especially in the back five, has been spot on.”

Farke highlighted Leeds’ first-half fluency as the major positive from the night, describing it as an “outstanding” period of football.

“Overall, it’s a really good result to come away with a point after Everton’s impressive win over Aston Villa,” he said. “The first half was outstanding – very dominant, no chances conceded, and we were unlucky not to make more of our opportunities.

“We had chances to really hurt them. Dominic probably had the best one and should score there. Against a top, well-managed side with so much quality on the bench, you have to take those moments.”

Leeds responded well late on after conceding, pushing for a winner with set pieces, corners and counter-attacks.

“My feeling was that we had more shots, more big chances and higher expected goals,” Farke added. “We were very close to winning, but it wasn’t to be. It’s a tough place to come, so we take the point and move on.”

On the injury front, Farke provided an update on Gudmundsson, who missed the match with a groin issue.

“He has a slight adductor strain and was always going to miss this game,” he explained. “The initial assessment suggested three to four weeks, but it’s looking a bit more positive now. We’ll get a second opinion and hopefully he only misses one or two games.

“He’s an important player for us, although I have to say James Justin was excellent in that position.”

Leeds return to action on Saturday when they host Arsenal at Elland Road.