On Saturday, Leeds United secured a solid 3-0 win against struggling Coventry City at Elland Road. Manager Daniel Farke understands that his squad could’ve put the game away in the first 45 minutes but praises the improvements made.
The Whites had a dominant first half, registering 10 total shots while Coventry failed to get a single one off. Leeds took the lead early, with Wilfried Gnonto scoring in the 16th minute to make it 1-0.
Leeds scaled back their attacking efforts in the second half, managing just three shots. Still, they found the net twice more to ensure a comfortable victory.
Jayden Bogle doubled the lead with a goal in the 49th minute, and Joël Piroe, who came off the bench, scored in the 79th minute, marking his second straight match on the scoresheet.
While Leeds did secure the win, it came at a cost, with Ethan Ampadu leaving the contest early with what appeared to be a knee injury.
Daniel Farke labels Leeds’ win a mature performance
Following the victory, Farke spoke to reporters, and while not putting the contest away in the first half, considering the number of shots they took, he’s happy with the result and improvements the squad has made.
“We didn’t allow them to have one chance, our pressing and our counter-pressing was spot on, we were really good in possession and scored a fantastic team goal, created many chances,” Farke said (h/t The Yorkshire Evening Post). “Yes, we could perhaps have buried the game in the first half but it was important to stay on it and start again on the front foot in the second half. Last season in the home game we were 1-0 up and finished the game 1-1 so we wanted to start the second half strongly. We did with an excellent second goal.
“We took the foot off the gas a bit after this in possession and could have done with a bit more possession and a bit more composure in possession. After the 2-0 I would say there were 25 minutes where we controlled everything against the ball and were really rock solid. Our decisions in possession were not that great in those moments.
“We could have dominated the game a bit more but I’m not too annoyed with this and I understand it because we had many important players out and many with light injury problems during the week on the pitch – Pascal Struijk, Junior Firpo, then the injury of our club captain Ethan Ampadu and we have three games in six days so it was a bit understandable that we took the foot off the gas a bit and wanted to be rock solid.”
