A sign of things to come and Leeds United must get up to speed quickly at Elland Road: final word on Championship loss to Burnley
There’s nothing strange about visiting sides sitting in at Elland Road and attempting to frustrate the hosts. It’s very much fact as opposed to fiction and it's their prerogative. Ultimately, it’s about how you deal with it.
There were some mitigating factors to this vanilla reverse and Daniel Farke, understandably, was quick to point a few out.
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Hide AdAlthough his post-match assertion that Leeds were ‘dominant’ with everyone in the dressing room struggling to explain how they didn’t win felt generous.


First, the mitigation. The list of Leeds players called up to by their countries during the international hiatus stood at 13. Preparation time together at Thorp Arch ahead of Burnley’s visit was scant and facing a team and squad of the ilk of the Clarets straight after the break was hardly ideal.
A big penalty call on the day also went against Farke’s side, who also missed two huge first-half chances, including one inside the first minute.
Things could have been different, yes. But in the final analysis, Leeds lacked the sophistication, attacking punch, rhythm, urgency and ultimately the belief to consistently trouble Burnley.
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Hide AdThe second half was pretty subdued and slightly disconcerting. Those in visiting jerseys stayed resolute at the back, but were certainly more comfortable than they could have imagined. The action was stop-start, a help to Burnley and hindrance to Leeds.


Over the course of the piece, Leeds had some dangerous moments for sure, but they were in isolation and the home faithful had nothing to truly get their teeth into. The atmosphere, like their side’s performance, was largely flat.
Analysing where Leeds and Burnley are at, given the early stage of the season, is an onerous task. If this fixture had been played in say November or December, judgments would have been easier. In September, it’s about finding a way.
Burnley did. Conscious that the Clarets are in the early stages of their own development under him, Scott Parker saw his new-look side take the lead - on a day when the first goal was always likely to take on a fair degree of importance - and then show a level of grit, organisation and game intelligence that augurs well. Break us down, they collectively said.
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Hide AdBurnley weren’t brilliant, but didn’t have to be, while in the post Gray-Summerville-Rutter world, Leeds remain a work in progress at the sharp end and connections need to be made and take time.


That said, the same applies to Burnley in fairness with 21 players leaving in the summer and their list of newcomers extending well into double figures.
The main contribution from a newcomer came from Leeds’ Manor Solomon 18 minutes in and it wasn’t one that anyone would have been expecting.
He slipped following a Leeds corner and Luca Koleosho galloped clear and the hosts were caught with their pants around their ankles as Burnley cashed in on a two-versus-one situation with Jayden Bogle desperately trying to man the barricades.
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Hide AdAfter a 70-yard dash down the right, Koleosho homed in on goal and his finish was unerring with Pascal Struijk and Joe Rodon trailing in the distance and Bogle in no-man’s land.
What happened before and after that goal was telling.
In minute one, Mateo Joseph was away after cashing in on an error from Maxime Esteve and saw the whites of keeper James Trafford’s eyes and blinked. He fired wide of an inviting goal. Serious sides, even at this comparatively early stage of the season, convert such opportunities.
When Leeds did get attempts on target, they found Trafford in the way and show why he was called up into England’s senior squad earlier this year.
The one piece of class work from the ‘ten’ by Brenden Aaronson was delightful. Not long after Koleosho’s strike, he played in Wilfried Gnonto, but Trafford stayed big and blocked.
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Hide AdThen, the conjecture. Solomon tumbled in the box following a last-ditch challenge from behind by Joe Worrall. The Clarets defender got some of the ball, but also made contact with the Leeds loanee. Referee James Bell was unmoved. ‘Seen them given’ is the phrase.
In the second half, Trafford made a textbook flying one-handed save to parry Joseph’s curler and an important tip-over to deny Ethan Ampadu.
Leeds brought little else to the table. Neither did Burnley – who saw Bashir Humphreys dismissed at the death - but they didn’t have to. That was the point.
Leeds United: Meslier; Bogle, Rodon (Tanaka 86), Struijk, Firpo (Byram 78); Gruev, Ampadu (Rothwell 68); Solomon (Ramazani 78), Aaronson (Piroe 68), Gnonto; Joseph. Substitutes unused: Darlow, Gelhardt, Schmidt, Debayo.
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Hide AdBurnley: Trafford; Humphreys, Worrall, Esteve, Pires; Laurent, Brownhill (Massengo 92); Koleosho (Sarmiento 64), Hannibal (Cullen 73), Anthony; Flemming (Hountondji 92). Substitutes unused: Hladky, Egan-Riley, Rodriguez, Egan, Agyei.
Referee: J Bell (Sheffield).