Leeds United ensured they remained the Championship leaders as they began 2025 with a 1-1 draw against Blackburn Rovers.
The hard-fought result against John Eustace’s side featured two late goals, a Pascal Struijk penalty and a Danny Batth goal from a corner, as the sides shared the points.
Rovers maintain an impressive recent record against Daniel Farke’s Leeds, having beaten them earlier in the season and in April 2024.
The Athletic picks out the key talking points.
A bruising new year for Leeds
The quick turnaround between games always causes problems for teams chasing Championship promotion and Leeds are no different. With Sam Byram coming off at half-time and Jayden Bogle going down early in the second half, Farke was forced into two changes, with the not-fully-fit Max Wober and Ethan Ampadu both needed from the bench.
A flare-up in Wober’s return from a knee injury kept him sidelined for four games, while Ampadu was rested from the starting line-up after five successive appearances since returning from his knee injury.
“He was out for two and a half months,” Farke said of Ampadu starting from the bench. “Then he had four games in the starting line-up in a row within 10 days. We had some red flags from the sports science with his tiredness and his data, which we do each and every day at the moment. The doctors take some blood data and it felt like his recovery stage was not great and we wanted to give him a rest today because we can’t afford to lose him to a muscle injury for eight weeks or something… You have to use your squad during this period.”
Both performed well once they came on, while Joe Rodon, Brenden Aaronson and Struijk all needed treatment during an injury-hit game. All three were able to continue — Rodon with a bruised side after a clash with team-mate Struijk, the Dutchman after banging heads in an aerial duel, and Aaronson with a sore eye sustained early in the first half.
Farke hopes all will be fit and ready for the weekend’s trip to Hull City, with Byram coming off due to illness and Bogle with a dead leg. Even so, the festive period can be a bruising one with limited recovery times between games.
Eustace is Leeds’ kryptonite
Few managers have the success John Eustace has had against Leeds — he boasts an impressive three wins and one draw from his past four games against them as manager of Rovers and former club Birmingham City. Though Eustace’s three wins came by a 1-0 scoreline, in each game he has given his team a tight defensive structure to make them hard to break down.
It made for a frustrating afternoon for Leeds, who are used to teams setting up in a mid-block at Elland Road, although they are often able to wear it down. Blackburn’s 30 per cent possession reflects their application and work off the ball to limit United to four shots on target. There were few quality chances for either side in difficult conditions before Dominic Hyam clipped Mateo Joseph in the box in the 87th minute to concede a penalty.
Rovers’ ability to limit Leeds forced Farke to change Leeds’ formation from 4-5-1 to 3-5-2 as he threw Joseph and Patrick Bamford on to play up front, with Wober and Dan James converting to wing-backs. The move paid off, with Farke explaining that the threat of Wober’s left-footed deliveries was key to him sacrificing Manor Solomon for the change of formation — the Austrian’s cross put Joseph in on goal when he was fouled.
Blackburn’s quick response to going behind when Struijk coolly dispatched the spot kick meant they equalised within two minutes when Batth stuck the ball away in a crowded penalty area from a corner. Eustace’s side balanced robust defending with an ability to disrupt Leeds’ play in a feisty outing — extending their good form against United while retaining their top-six place.
Pascal Struijk scores a penalty against Blackburn (Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)
Elland Road record continues into 2025
The draw against Blackburn brought an end to Leeds’ winning run at Elland Road, which dated back to September’s 1-0 defeat by Burnley, but United are still unbeaten at home in that period. Home form has been vital to maintaining Farke’s target of an average of two points per game that he believes will be enough for promotion. While faltering away form in October and November — during which time Leeds managed just one win from six away matches — did not disrupt their place at the top of the league too greatly, it would have had a far greater impact without their home strengths.
Even when Leeds have not played at their best — as Farke admitted was the case against Blackburn — they have found a way to break teams down at Elland Road. Praise and compliments from visiting managers after home matches are common enough that few teams will fancy their chances when playing Leeds at home in the second half of the season.
As they pass the halfway mark, having a record to defend will add extra fuel to their motivations as they target promotion.
What next for Leeds?
United face a quick turnaround again before their next Championship fixture, with Farke’s side set to travel to Hull on January 4 at 3pm.
(Top photo: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
