Saturday was not a happy day for Leeds United fans. The Whites lost their fourth league game of the season away from home.
Daniel Farke continues to search for his second ever win against the Clarets since he stepped foot in England. Before the game, many thought the match was going to be a win for Leeds. With how the club started the season, the fans were not wrong to think that.
An early goal from Lesley Ugochokwu shocked the visitors in the first 20 minutes. The Whites could have equalized before half time, but fluffed their lines. Luom Tchouana scored a long range effort in the second half to seal the game.
After the match, Daniel Farke’s defence of the loss was what set most of the fanbase off:
“In an away game on Premier League level, you can’t have better statistics than we did today.
“We dominated each and every aspect, possession, shots, shots on target, big chances, expected goals, corners, everything.
“When Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City travel here, even they won’t have better statistics. We won each and every statistic, but in football, it is also just about goals. They were more effective than us today.”
QUIZ: Can you name these 10 former Leeds United strikers?
Numbers prove that you can have better stats at Turf Moor
Karl Darlow Credit: Imago
On Saturday, Leeds did truly have more possession, shots, big chances and expected goals than Burnley at Turf Moor. But the key thing was that the attackers failed to convert their chances.
The Whites generated 2.4 expected goals (xG). Which means on any other day, if the players converted their chances, Leeds would have scored two goals.
Fbref xG against Burnley
Looking at the numbers on FBref proves Daniel Farke’s defence wrong. Neither Arsenal or Manchester City have made the trip to Turf Moor yet, but some teams have gotten better stats this season.
This is a select list of teams that have achieved the same feat as Leeds did on Saturday:
- Nottingham Forest – 63% possession, 17 shots, 1.10xG
- Liverpool – 81% possession, 27 shots, 2.65xG
Adding Leeds, that is three visitors this campaign to have had ”better stats” than Burnley at Turf Moor. But the only team that lost when they had these statistics were the Whites on Saturday.
Leeds United need to fix goalscoring problem
The glaring problem in the team continues – poor finishing. Leeds play well and get players into scoring positions, but the final touches lets them down. On Saturday, Brenden Aaronson was guilty of that; he had a one-on-one and failed to convert.
The club really does not have a clinical player in the attack, which is the fault of the recruitment team. How do you spend £100million and not find a competent finisher. Building a formidable team from the defence to the attack was a good idea, but the club fell woefully short of upgrading on attacking options. And so far this season it has cost them dearly.
