‘I am happy man’ - Daniel Farke loved what Leeds United did v Newcastle United
.jpg?width=96&crop=1:1,smart)
Leeds United v Newcastle United: Daniel Farke has reacted to his side’s goalless draw with the Magpies at Elland Road.
Daniel Farke has revealed he is ‘happy’ with his Leeds United side following their goalless draw against Newcastle United at Elland Road. The hosts limited their opponents to just eight shots throughout the 90 minutes in Yorkshire, giving up just 0.42xG in that time.
Farke’s side enjoyed more touches in the opposition box than the Magpies and were unfortunate not to steal all three points at the end when Nick Pope stuck a foot out to deny Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s late effort. Leeds have taken four points from their first three games back in the Premier League and head into the international break above Newcastle United in the league table.
Daniel Farke reacts to Leeds United v Newcastle United
Whilst Eddie Howe and his team cut frustrated figures after being unable to score for a second time this season, the man in the opposition dugout spoke of his happiness at not just the hard-fought nature of the draw, but how his team were also able to create opportunities at the other end: “I am a happy man tonight, especially after the start to the season, four points out of three really competitive games,” Farke told Sky Sports.
“Two games here at home, two clean sheets, four points, that is how you need to approach the season as a newly promoted side.
“We have played here today against one of the best sides in the UK, a side that dominated with ten men against Liverpool. You can't just play them off the park.
“We created a good one against one situation with the goalkeeper. We had a good first half and then in the second half they maybe had more possession. But we perhaps had bigger chances.
The Gazette has launched a new WhatsApp NUFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our NUFC WhatsApp channel.
"We are rock solid. The basement is there. We spoke about in order to survive we need to do more in the offensive area, add more quality, but overall I am pleased."
He continued: “It is a different animal, the Premier League. First you have to build the correct basis and be rock solid defending and make it difficult to create chances.
“We didn't allow any chances, we made it difficult for Everton and Newcastle. And then the next steps, I didn't expect that we would right now come and take the league by storm because we are a newly promoted side and blow teams out of the park.
“You just have to look at what they can do in the transfer market, a team of Champions League level, I am pretty happy with a point, happy with the clean sheet and for that I don't want to be too critical for the fact that we did not score.”
Whilst Leeds will head into the two-week break with optimism, Newcastle will reflect on yet more points dropped and a very underwhelming start to the season. Their draw against Aston Villa was unfortunate, whilst their defeat against Liverpool came after a battling performance.
They will reflect on another stalemate on Saturday as an opportunity missed, however, with the gap between themselves and those they will hope to be battling with come May already beginning to increase.