Leeds United came up short on Saturday afternoon at Elland Road despite dominating large parts of their clash against Tottenham Hotspur, only for two deflected shots to find their way past Karl Darlow.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Joe Rodon, Joel Piroe and Sean Longstaff all came close to scoring for Leeds on Saturday, after Noah Okafor had cancelled out Mathys Tel’s opener. Okafor’s second in Leeds colours.
But Leeds came up short when Pascal Struijk deflected another shot, this time from Mohammed Kudus, that wrong-footed Wales’ no.1. Unlucky, even if Darlow might feel he should do better with the first.
Chris Sutton believes Leeds were the better side on Saturday, making the comment while responding to a Spurs fan who thinks they are title contenders. Wayne Rooney had sympathy for Daniel Farke and Leeds.
Alan Shearer identifies key difference between Leeds and Spurs
Ultimately, Tottenham’s ability to call on players worth north of £50m saw them win on Saturday. They had to rely on individual quality and a bit of luck to get the job done – and they got that in Kudus.
The former West Ham man was excellent, yet Alan Shearer told The Rest Is Football that Spurs’ ability to transition quickly and get up the pitch in the blink of an eye was the real difference at Elland Road.
Shearer also praised Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro, on The Rest Is Football: “I think the big difference for Spurs yesterday (Saturday) was that, Leeds had more possession, more shots, had the better chances.
“They put Spurs under huge pressure at times. What impressed me was how good Spurs were on the transition, on the turn over, got the ball forward quickly, two full-backs were great in Porro and Udogie.”
MORE LEEDS UNITED STORIES
Leeds have eight points from seven games, but deserve more
When Leeds were promoted, many were concerned at the trend of promoted sides being relegated. The previous six had been sent packing in their first season. Others were worried about manager Farke.
His six wins in 49 Premier League games at Norwich had fans and pundits calling for a change. Yet, both things have not come to pass. Leeds have more than held their own in six of their seven league games.
Only the Arsenal defeat saw Leeds outplayed. Wins against Everton and Wolves, draws against Newcastle and Bournemouth – the latter, should have been a win – and harsh defeats to Fulham and then Spurs.