Leeds United might lack creativity in the traditional sense but Daniel Farke is using one of his side’s best defensive traits to generate attacking opportunities.
Chance creation has been an early-season concern for Leeds after a summer in which Elland Road chiefs were unable to give Farke the right-sided attacker he wanted. A deadline-day push for Harry Wilson came to nothing and that creativity issue became magnified after four Premier League games produced zero open-play goals.
Farke’s only natural No.10 is Brenden Aaronson, who by his own manager’s recent admission needs to improve his decision-making and effectiveness in the final third. The German also recently admitted his side lack individual quality in attacking areas compared to other Premier League teams, and so he must find alternative ways to carve defences open.
An avenue Leeds have given importance to this season is pressing, with Farke keen to have his side win possession high up the pitch where possible. By doing so, they give themselves a chance to run at a defence that is not settled into its shape, meaning bigger gaps to exploit and more space for the likes of Noah Okafor or Dan James to run into.
Five games is an admittedly small sample size to draw any major conclusions but the early signs are promising for Leeds. A metric used to measure how effectively teams can create chances from different scenarios is known as ‘shot-creating actions’ or ‘SCA’, which are defined as any of the two key actions prior to a shot being taken.
Using Okafor’s finish in Saturday’s 3-1 win at Wolves as the most recent example, Anton Stach was involved in both actions that led to that shot, intercepting Emmanuel Agbadou’s pass before releasing his teammate with a through ball. The shot-creating actions that led to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s equaliser were Ethan Ampadu’s pass to Jayden Bogle and the latter’s deflected cross.
According to FBRef.com, six of Leeds’ SCA’s this season have come from a defensive action such as a tackle, interception or winning of a duel. In other words, Farke’s side have managed to get six shots off as the direct result of a defensive action, with Stach’s interception at Molineux leading to a goal.
Leeds United top Premier League charts for chance-creation stat
No other Premier League team has six defensive-SCA’s, with Bournemouth the only team close to Leeds on five and no one else above three. Andoni Iraola’s Cherries are considered one of the league’s best pressing sides and so Leeds’ position above them in this metric suggests they are very effective in springing attacks from such situations.
Leeds are not a massively high-pressing team, ranking around mid-table for tackles in the attacking and middle thirds, but they have been highly effective in turning those defensive moments into shooting opportunities. Neither Stach nor Ampadu would be considered lock-picking playmakers but against more open back-lines, they are perfectly capable of exploiting those spaces.
A lot of Leeds’ most notable chances this season have come directly after defensive actions. At Fulham, Stach was able to get a shot off after Ethan Ampadu intercepted a pass and found the German. Against Newcastle United, Calvert-Lewin’s 90th-minute effort came after he was played through by Jayden Bogle, who picked the ball up from a Sean Longstaff tackle in midfield.
Speaking after that draw, Ilia Gruev directly addressed the tactic. “This will come if we win the ball like today, so high, the way to their goal is really short,” he said. “And this will come. We will work on it. We will train hard to get better in these terms and it will come. I have no doubt.”
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp once described counter-pressing as one of the ‘best playmakers’ in the world because of a team’s ability to carve open an unsettled defence with one pass. Marcelo Bielsa also spoke about being able to ‘unbalance’ the kind of low-block defences he came up against as Leeds boss in the Championship.
Taking advantage of an unsettled defensive line is not revolutionary, nor is it impossible to mitigate against, but for Leeds it’s already proving an effective way to consistently create shooting chances. And in a team lacking traditional creativity, it could be their best route to goals between now and May.
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