Daniel Farke's brutal axing of Leeds United duo v Sunderland speaks volumes: View
Leeds United played out a drab 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light against Sunderland.
Whilst the point ensures we remain 7th in the Premier League, it was our fifth draw from our opening eight games.
And in many ways, it’s been a similar story to our matches against Manchester United and Crystal Palace. Today, we once again lacked that quality in the final third.
Two of our attacking players in particular were dreadful this evening. Daniel Farke’s decision to axe the pair during the game speaks volumes.
Daniel Farke brutally axed Brenden Aaronson and Harry Wilson after a lacklustre display v Sunderland
With Farke confirming that Anton Stach and Noah Okafor were struggling with injuries in his pre-match press conference, this gave Brenden Aaronson and Harry Wilson an opportunity to be in the starting XI.
Typically, we see Okafor hugging the touchline whilst Stach picks up pockets of space on that right side and acts as a number ten at times.
But today we lined up with Aaronson and Wilson out wide, and the pair were useless. The full United team weren’t at the races from an attacking standpoint. But both Wilson and Aaronson personified our struggles in the final third.
In the 65 or so minutes they were on the pitch, both players remained on the fringes of the game. The duo offered nothing in terms of a legitimate threat to Sunderland’s backline.
It was at that point that Farke had seen enough. Aaronson and Wilson were replaced by Stach and Okafor, who surely couldn’t have been 100% fit considering they didn’t start and were labelled as ‘major doubts’ just a few days ago.
But the fact that Farke trusted two players who, in all likelihood, weren’t fully fit more than Aaronson and Wilson to find a breakthrough speaks volumes. I don’t think we’ll be seeing either in the starting XI for a while unless injury forces us to.
Data suggests Brenden Aaronson and Harry Wilson were anonymous against Sunderland
Between the pair at the Stadium of Light, neither Aaronson nor Wilson had a shot.
Aaronson was the only one out of the duo to complete a dribble. However, the American only managed to record one.
They also lost the ball a combined 22 times. (Sofascore)
Of the seven duels Wilson was involved in, he won two. Aaronson won just one of the four he had during the game.
In a contest that was a tough watch, to see these two put in a performance like that when they’re meant to be the ones creating chances and threatening to score was incredibly frustrating.
Neither man can complain that he was hooked off. They also cannot complain if it is a while before they get another opportunity to start a Premier League game.
It’s very rare that I wouldn’t take a point on the road when considering it’s just our second season back in the Premier League. It’s not the result I necessarily have an issue with; it’s the performance.
In three of our last four games, we have been particularly flat in the final third. This has to change going forward.
By now, we more or less know what to expect from Aaronson. However, Wilson was brought in over the summer to give us that much-needed X factor at the top end of the pitch, but so far, the Welshman looks miles off it.
