Manchester City won and consigned Leeds United to their sixth loss in seven matches. It was the outcome most observers would have predicted pre-match, another twist of the pressure valve on Daniel Farke’s position as manager. Except it was not what anyone would have expected.
The tone was set as early as the 59th second, when Phil Foden punctured any bubble of optimism the away end had carried with them to Etihad Stadium. Bernardo Silva, Matheus Nunes and the England international combined to rapidly dismantle Farke’s newly-installed left-flank duo, James Justin and Wilfried Gnonto.
United stabilised from that hammer blow, but by half-time, this was the painting everyone expected from Pep Guardiola. City had the abacus at the ready, Leeds were battening down the hatches, and then everything started to change. Farke took a lighter to that canvas and burnt everyone’s assumptions to a crisp.
There were half-time changes. There was a discernible change in formation. And it unlocked Leeds United. When you consider who they were playing and where, this was arguably United’s best 45 minutes of the season so far.
This was such a transformative pivot from Farke. Across two-and-a-half years dominated by winning matches, there have been few gripes with United’s manager, but one of the few has always been the late nature of his substitutions or tactical shifts in a match.
Farke can often be perceived as reactive rather than proactive. It was not much of a problem in the Championship, but as results have slid in the Premier League, a quiet frustration grew into audible anger last week. A stubborn obsession with 4-2-3-1 in the second tier, then 4-3-3 this season, had also begun to irk the club’s followers.
And then here we had everything Farke had been accused of lacking, in one fell swoop. And not only that, it worked. It brought hope, reinvigorated the players and unleashed a ferocity from the support not heard since Joe Rodon powered in that header against West Ham United.
Jaka Bijol and Dominic Calvert-Lewin emerged as the players returned for the second half. Ironically, it was Gnonto and Daniel James, two of the figures so frequently called for in recent games — and two of the big changes to the starting line-up — who made way. From 4-3-3, Farke went 5-3-2, and it clicked.
Bijol, whose pace was so ruthlessly exposed at Brighton & Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest, was protected by Pascal Struijk and Rodon, but had the physicality to battle with Erling Haaland and clear high balls into the box.
Jayden Bogle and Justin (later Gabriel Gudmundsson), caged and pinned back in the first half, were unleashed to support the flanks. Lukas Nmecha immediately had company in Calvert-Lewin.
Nmecha scores to level the game for Leeds (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
That partnership, fed by long balls, totally bossed the City defence for long periods of the second half. Their strength, jumping, pressing and movement was too much and a refreshing sight after years of single-striker formations under multiple Elland Road managers.
The ultimate compliment was Gianluigi Donnarumma’s decision to hit the deck and call for medical treatment while every outfield City player flocked to Guardiola for a rethink. They were rabbits in the headlights and had no idea how to cope with Leeds all over the pitch. And this was without two of Farke’s first-choice midfielders.
Yes, it was 45 minutes, and yes, Leeds ultimately lost 3-2 courtesy of a late Foden goal, but this is something to cling to, a reason to believe. As fickle or as fragile as it feels, that dim glow is there. It needs to be nurtured, fed, not snuffed out on Wednesday night at 7pm when Leeds’s team sheet for the game against Chelsea is revealed.
Is Farke turning over a new leaf, acknowledging that change was needed to stop this poor form? It wasn’t just at the break, but before the game, with less success, he changed almost half of the team which started the Aston Villa loss.
Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff’s exclusions were forced on him, but the left flank he had so publicly derided last week was rotated, and Brenden Aaronson, whose stock had plummeted on the terraces, was finally overlooked for James down the right. The plan was not as effectively executed in the first half, but it wasn’t the same personnel in the same shape, expecting a different outcome.
It all leaves the Leeds narrative in an odd place. Much in the same way that last weekend’s improved performance failed to stop the rot because they still lost to Villa, they still lost in Manchester on Saturday.
A loss is a loss. Yes, United remain in the bottom three and that bit further from the point-per-game average they need. But a lot of teams will lose at the Etihad, and lose a lot worse than this. Leeds really showed a new side to their game.
This performance, this change in shape, may not precipitate a turnaround in the club’s short-term form, it may not ultimately improve Farke’s job security, but at least he tried something different. He has given what looked like a stuck record the chance to spin again.
There was a very real possibility that a heavy defeat at City could have seen United’s ownership act, but in two half-time decisions, Farke has turned the narrative on a sixpence. Boardroom minds will have been calmer on Saturday night, but all parties know the club needs points, not just promise.
Even if it was a defeat, this will fuel Elland Road for the epic clashes of next week. Assuming the team sheet promises to water the seed planted this weekend, United’s home will be rocking when Chelsea arrive. This was a performance to believe in.