Leeds United booked their place in the quarter-final of the FA Cup after a comfortable 3-0 win over Championship outfit Norwich City.
Despite the game being closely contested at first, goals from Sean Longstaff, Gabriel Gudmundsson and Joel Piroe were enough to extend this cup run that the Whites find themselves on.
Daniel Farke was forced to watch from the stands as the German manager served his one-match suspension after his sending off against Manchester City, but it ultimately had little effect on Leeds’ ability to perform.
Despite the comfortable nature of the win, Farke was not entirely satisfied with the performance, with the Leeds boss sharing his honest thoughts in his post game interview.
Daniel Farke highlights what ‘could have been better’ after Leeds’ performance vs Norwich
Piroe was one of the fringe players who impressed against Norwich after being handed a rare start, with the 26-year-old ending his run of 18 competitive appearances without a goal.
Whilst Piroe will be completley satisfied with the afternoon’s proceedings, his manager was still able to nitpick aspects of United’s performance.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Farke said, “We were the favourites today, but you only have to look at what happened elsewhere. Teams around us in the [Premier League] table rotated today and went out.
“I can’t complain at all. Important minutes in the tank for some players, and able to rest others. Sometimes it is OK if you have two or three changes to a team with core bones. If you rotate in nine positions, you need time.
“We deserved to be 2-0 up. Second half, the game management could at times have been better but, in general, we didn’t allow many chances. It was an important win for us. A win is always good for confidence.”
With teams such as Southampton and Port Vale progressing into the quarter-final of the FA Cup, there is no reason why Farke’s side should not have their full attention on bringing silverware back to Elland Road, especially if they get one of these more favourable draws.
Data suggests that Leeds were deserving winners against Norwich
After the Whites struggled against Birmingham last time out in the FA Cup, it was reassuring to see Farke’s side put on such a dominant performance at Elland Road.
- Leeds created more high-quality chances than the visitors, boasting an xG of 1.67 compared to Norwich’s 0.87
- Leeds also had more than double the amount of shots that Norwich did, with 15, whilst the Championship outlet only managed seven
- Lucas Perri was also rarely put under pressure as the Brazilian only had to make three comfortable saves in order to keep his clean sheet intact (FootyStats)
With Leeds losing their last two outings prior to their game against Norwich, it was important that Farke’s side got back to winning ways to give them some much-needed confidence ahead of the run-in for the backend of the Premier League campaign.
