Leeds United handed cheat code to Championship promotion but there's a nagging problem to solve

-Credit: (Image: Athena Pictures/Getty Images)
-Credit: (Image: Athena Pictures/Getty Images)


That white shirt can be heavy. Many Leeds United managers have spoken of the weight of expectation for footballers when they wear that iconic jersey. How many meltdowns and collapses have you watched down the years from your beloved Whites?

Leeds have always been a team that can switch between the sublime and the ridiculous in a heartbeat. There is often no rhyme or reason to it. It’s often met with the explanation: Leeds, that. Emotions run high on a matchday and, as Daniel Farke put it himself, that’s not a bad thing, it just shows passionately everyone wants this team to succeed.

That’s why, when the team isn’t succeeding, tempers can fray and anxiety becomes audible on the terraces. The longer it takes for that first goal to come, the more the nerves jangle and the weightier that shirt can become for players so keen to impress and satisfy the supporters.

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Scoring first is, put simply, a cheat code for United as a promotion-chasing Championship outfit. The variables change in the Premier League, but as one of the dominant forces in the second tier, striking first is deadly for opponents.

As LUFC Data pointed out over the weekend, United have now avoided defeat in the last 56 Championship matches they have scored first in, which takes in 49 wins and seven draws. That run goes back to April 2019, when Wigan Athletic infamously went 1-0 down with 10 men at Elland Road on Good Friday, but won 2-1 with 23 per cent possession and two shots on target.

In short, since Marcelo Bielsa’s first season, Leeds have been a dominant team in the second tier with players arguably too good for this level. Once the pressure has been lifted by hitting the front, the freedom and confidence of a lead evidently unleashes some of their best football from that point.

Striking first is naturally helped by a potent attacking force the opponent cannot live with. Largie Ramazani, Mateo Joseph and Wilfried Gnonto will do what they can to find the net, but while they’re chipping away, the defence needs to ensure the opposition doesn’t get their own chance to lead.

Opta’s Leeds specialist, Jonny Cooper, dug out another eye-catching stat after Saturday’s win at Cardiff City. He found the Whites have only faced 40 shots in their opening six league matches and that’s the fewest shots faced by a second-tier side since Opta began measuring that statistic in 2013/14.

So, for some of the gripes there have been with this early phase of the season, this United side is operating at an outstanding level defensively. Yes, the Portsmouth match was freakish and Manor Solomon’s slip was punished by Burnley, but the Whites have been virtually impenetrable up to now.

In conclusion, score first and you’re virtually home and dry, fellas.