Leeds United’s away form is not what it needs to be if they are going to contend for automatic Premier League promotion this season.
In the wake of a 1-0 defeat away to Millwall on Wednesday, a result that ends their eight-match unbeaten run overall, Daniel Farke’s side now have two wins from their seven 2024-25 Championship games played away from Elland Road.
The fact that this defeat to Neil Harris’ side is their first of those seven on the road should point to an otherwise strong record. But draws against West Bromwich Albion, Norwich City, Sunderland and Bristol City have been frustrating in the context of Leeds’ start to the campaign.
When Farke’s team have failed to find their groove in attack, the reason has usually been that they were facing an effective defensive block. Millwall too were resolute in their structure last night and that, combined with poor decision-making in the final third from Leeds’ attackers, made for a well-earned win for an efficient second-tier opponent.
A victory against any side in this 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 their manager (having also had two stints here as a player) in February, the south-east Londoners have won more points than any other Championship team with 48. The second-best team? Leeds, with 47 points.
Second-best is the best way to describe Leeds on the night, despite their manager broadly feeling pleased with the performance, if frustrated with the result. They never managed to break down a stubborn defence, with the best chance a glancing Willy Gnonto header sent over the bar. Joel Piroe did put the ball in the net in the second half but was offside.
By contrast, when Millwall got their chance, they took it — a long free kick into the penalty area, headed down by the towering Jake Cooper and turned in by Japhet Tanganga. It felt like Cooper found 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 Millwall’s dead-ball specialist Joe Bryan on the pitch, as he was suspended.
Japhet Tanganga scores the only goal of the game (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Poor decision-making and a lack of cutting edge have been themes on their travels for Leeds this season, with this their second away game in a row without scoring after Ashton Gate almost two weeks ago.
“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 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 — Leeds were lacking in inspiration. When Leeds struggle in a game, Farke’s substitutions always come under the microscope and maybe there is something to be said for the timing of his changes against Millwall.
Despite threatening periods, the visitors’ attacking struggles were plain to see long before Farke first turned to his replacements in the 72nd minute, with Solomon going on for Joe Rothwell. On average, he has made his substitutions earlier in the seven league matches at home (70th minute) than in the seven away games (75th) — 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 the 3-0 demolition of Plymouth Argyle at Elland Road just five days ago.
Leeds have the class and the benefit of a more forgiving Championship than the 2023-24 version to absorb results like this loss. But if they are to win promotion this time after last season’s play-off final agony, or even aspire to win the title, preventing their away days from becoming so arduous will be key.
(Top photo: Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
