Leeds United’s away form is not what it needs to be if they are going to contend for automatic promotion this season.
In the wake of a 1-0 defeat away to Millwall on Wednesday night, ending their eight-match unbeaten run, Daniel Farke’s side now have a record of two wins from their seven games away from Elland Road in 2024-25.
The fact that the defeat to Neil Harris’ side is their first on the road should point to an otherwise strong record. But draws against Bristol City, Sunderland, Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion have been frustrating in the context of their start to the campaign.
When Leeds have failed to find their groove in attack, the reason has usually been due to their opponent setting up in an effective defensive block. Millwall were resolute in their structure and, combined with poor decision-making in the final third from United’s attackers, made for a well-earned win for an efficient Championship opponent.
A victory against any team in the division is not to be taken for granted but least of all Millwall under Harris, who are now up to fifth in the table. Since the 47-year-old rejoined the club for a second spell as manager in February, Millwall have won more points than any other Championship team with 48. The second-best team? Leeds with 47 points in the same time.
Second-best is the best way to describe Leeds on the night, despite their manager Farke broadly feeling pleased with the performance, if frustrated with the result. United never managed to break down a stubborn Millwall defence, with the best chance a glancing Willy Gnonto header sent over the bar. Joel Piroe managed to put the ball in the net in the second half but was offside.
By contrast, when Millwall got their chance ,they took it with a free kick sent long into the box headed down by the towering Jake Cooper and turned in by Japhet Tanganga. It felt like Cooper had success on just about every occasion the ball was sent to him in the Leeds box — an individual heading success rate across the game of 77.8 per cent tells the story — and that was without dead-ball specialist Joe Bryan on the pitch as he missed out through suspension.
Japhet Tanganga scores the only goal of the game (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Poor decision-making and a lack of cutting edge has been a theme away from home for Leeds this season, with this their second in a row without scoring.
“I wouldn’t say that we had too many high crosses so that Cooper could always head the ball away,” Farke said. “But the awareness level and the tidiness; we had two or three chances in the first half to play the ball with the finishing pass and we didn’t do this. We play the ball two yards too long, one moment too late or untidy.
“With the shooting positions, we were too central in our shots, so we had to concentrate a bit more to bring the ball down and be in a great shooting position. We made it a bit too complicated. When it counts, we have to be clinical to put the ball away… In the final third, we were not quick enough in the head to score a goal against a fantastic defending Millwall side.”
In patches, these blips and frustrations might not be enough to knock Leeds’ promotion challenge off course but they are a reminder of how easily Farke’s team can be blunted. Even when throwing on a wealth of attacking talent — Patrick Bamford, Manor Solomon and Mateo Joseph all came off the bench at The Den — Leeds were lacking in inspiration. When United struggle in a game, Farke’s substitutions always come under the microscope and maybe there is something to be said for the timing of the changes against Millwall.
Despite threatening periods, Leeds’ attacking struggle was plain to see long before Farke looked to the bench in the 72nd minute. On average, he has made his substitutions earlier in the seven league matches at home (70th minute) than in the seven away games (75th minute) — excluding the early injury-enforced substitutions for Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev. Balancing a commitment to the plan with the risk of a loss of structure to build play through midfield is a key consideration.
Mateo Joseph cuts a frustrated figure at full-time (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
“I didn’t have the feeling that we needed to change the rhythm of the game because we were all over them,” Farke said. “I was happy with how we approached this game and sometimes, if you take an important player for your structure out, like Joe Rothwell, it can damage your game a little bit.
“It was a bit the case that we were not that fluid in our build-up anymore, we had more offensive players close to the opponent’s box but if you then don’t score then you can say we should have left Joe on the pitch… I didn’t have the feeling that I needed to break our formation because I was happy in our performance (up to 71 minutes) but we were not effective in using our chances.”
The result and performance against Millwall, while not disastrous, jar with Leeds’ demolition of Plymouth Argyle at Elland Road just five days ago.
Leeds have the class and the benefit of a more forgiving Championship to absorb results like Wednesday’s Millwall loss this season. But if they are to win promotion or even aspire to win the Championship title, then preventing away days from becoming so arduous will be key.
(Top photo: Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
