Leeds United surprised plenty of people last season by comfortably securing their Premier League status in their first campaign back in the top flight, looking like a side that belonged at that level.
The Whites went unbeaten against both Chelsea and Liverpool, drew with Manchester United at Elland Road and then ended a 45-year wait for a league win at Old Trafford by beating the Red Devils on their own turf.
The two sides met again in Dublin tonight, with the pre-season friendly finishing 1-1 after 90 minutes before Manchester United prevailed on penalties.
Leeds’ main aim next season will be to establish themselves in the Premier League, although there is already growing talk that they could push for a European place.
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ITV pundit claims Leeds had a ‘slice of luck’ last season
Leeds did an excellent job to survive in the Premier League last season with games to spare and looked like a steady top-flight team.
However, former Leeds star Michael Brown has insisted that the Whites were lucky to survive in the Premier League after struggling at different points of the campaign.
He believes the squad look stronger ahead of the new season, but expectations should be managed despite the need for improvements in the 2026/27 campaign.
“There is always pressure on Leeds United. The expectations are always really high”, Brown said on ITV.
“Leeds will want to finish as high as they can, and they will want to taste a bit of cup glory; they will want to get to Wembley, and aim for those big things.
“But I will say, be careful. The squad is stronger; they struggled last season, and they managed to find a bit of improvement on a bit of a slice of luck.”
Leeds United were not lucky to survive; they deserved to
Daniel Farke shifted tactics and turned Leeds into one of the toughest teams to beat in the latter half of the season, helping them survive in the Premier League.
It may not have been pretty, but Leeds achieved results against most established Premier League teams and looked one of the toughest nuts to crack.
There was no luck involved; Leeds worked their socks off and made every game a battle to ensure they survived in the Premier League with games to spare.
What an absolute load of tosh. Leeds survived because they accumulated more than enough points to finish in a confortable position in the table. These pundits will say anything for a pay day, including Michael Brown
He clearly didn’t watch much of Leeds last season. If it wasn’t for refereeing decisions they would have finished top half.
These pundits talk absolute rubbish and get paid for the nonsense.
Hi was never a star at LUFC. 2nd rate at best