Daniel Farke on Leeds United's 'light disappointment' as sloppy goal undermines spirited performance against Manchester United
Daniel Farke was proud of the spirit of his Leeds United players but admitted to "light disappointment" at being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester United.
Leeds took the lead through Brenden Aaronson shortly after the hour but relinquished it inside three minutes to a Matheus Cunha goal the Whites manager admitted his goalkeeper, Lucas Perri, should have done better with.
So although Leeds extended their unbeaten run to seven Premier League games and the gap to the relegation zone to eight points in a game they were missing the suspended Ethan Ampadu and injured Joe Rodon and Jayden Bogle with their deputies in his eyes not in the right condition to start, it was still tinged with frustration.
"I'm proud of my lads, because it was a tricky circumstance for us," he stressed.
"Several key players were not available. We even had Sean Longstaff back in the squad (as an unused substitute).
"I would never (normally) do this after such a long-term injury without a proper team (training) session but I wanted his personality and maturity a bit in the dressing room.
"To face a side of the calibre of Man United is difficult and everyone tells you how big this game is.
"I'm very proud of the mentality of my players to show resilience again.
"Normally for Seb Bornauw, JJ (James Justin) and Ilia (Gruev) it was actually not possible to start after such a workload. But they had to start because simply no other players in their positions were available.
"We showed another very competitive and really good performance.
"Football-wise it was probably not our best day but nevertheless we found a way to be competitive again.
"We came pretty close to winning this game, especially after a well-taken goal from Brenden Aaronson in the second half. So for that there is even a light disappointment that we didn't take all three points."
Dominic Calvert-Lewin hit a post for Leeds at 0-0. Cunha did likewise for a Red Devils side very light on attacking options due to injuries and Africa Cup of Nations call-ups when the score was 1-1.
Farke was critical of the goal Leeds conceded, split open by a pass from substitute Joshua Zirkzee, and made too easy for the goalscorer by Perri's indecisive move off his line.
"The equaliser was very unnecessary," he commented.
"Normally I don't like to speak too much about individual mistakes but it was obvious that Lucas took the wrong decision. If he stays on his line it's probably not even a chance because Cunha was running away from the goal. Seb and Jaka (Bijol) were close to him and he somehow opened the goal.
"Otherwise we probably would have won this game because we didn't allow really much more in this situation.
"I'm not over the moon with this result, but I'm over the moon with the mentality of my lads and the spirit to show another competitive performance."
Leeds hope to have Bogle back from a "minor calf problem" for Wednesday's game at Newcastle United.
A supporter died after a medical emergency at Elland Road before kick-off.