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May 17, 2024
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke praised goalkeeper Ian Meslier after his team’s 4-0 victory over Norwich City at Elland Road in the NFL Championship playoff semi final secured a spot at Wembley.
They easily won in Yorkshire, demonstrating that this year’s point differential between the third-place and sixth-place teams is the biggest in over 20 years.
Following a goalless first leg, Ilia Gruev, Joël Piroe, Georgianio Rutter, and Crystal Summerville’s goals ensured Leeds had an opportunity to achieve something the team had never done before: get promoted through the playoffs.
Facing West Brom or Southampton will be regardless of who advances to the final complex.
Leeds has suffered many playoff heartaches, but after this performance, this year might be the year they finally break through. Farke was dissatisfied with everything and will hopefully improve to reach the end result. He said:
“Well done to the boys. Congratulations to Norwich for a really good season and although we were up that early in the game they tried everything in order to come back so we had to be switched on in each and every moment.”
”It was important for defend really well and to make sure that we return to the dressing room with a clean sheet.”
Even though the team won easily, Farke thought some of his younger players were affected by the moment.
“There were a few things I would like to moan about and we have to speak about because we have to be more effective in using our chances.”
”Sometimes, in the stadium it is not that easy, but sometimes we were over excited in possession and overridden by the emotions but we have a young side and of course a great night for us.”
“When I watch the game on the sofa, I will enjoy it. They were brilliant today. Obviously, a bit more brutal and clinical in front of goal to finish off the game earlier going into the second half, normally you need to put the game to bed because there are so many experienced players and they know what to do to finish the game so we had to always be switched on.”
Following the goals from Gruev and Piroe, Josh Sargent, an international for the United States, had an opportunity to cut the lead in half. Still, Meslier saved the day with a save that eliminated any possibility of a rally. Farke gave his number one a lot of praise. He said:
“This is one of the things I meant when I said we were a bit over emotional and Josh Sargent has a really good chance and for that then, this is a sign of being a top-class goalkeeper.”
”He was not in the game, did not have one save to make but in the crucial moment, it was a world class save and all credit goes to him today”.
There is always going to be a loser when there is a winner. David Wagner, the manager of Norwich, has enjoyed playoff highs with Huddersfield Town, but this will be a low point for him as his future plans are still unknown. He discussed this and offered his assessment of the performance on the second leg.
“At the end of the day it was poor. Leeds were very good so congratulations to them.”
”Everything we should not have done, we did. First goal from a set piece, super soft, super avoidable. The second one, totally predictable situation, something we have spoken about the last two weeks, they have done it in the last game and this game. It was totally clear what would happen, if we press them on the side and we did not shuffle over and concede.”
“Then we had this one chance with [Josh] Sargent where maybe we can get our energy back and we have not used it. We were poor tonight, unfortunately, in a moment where it counts. This obviously hurts a lot”.
“At the end of the day I think it is clear that there has to be some conversations from my side as well about the plans next season.”
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Katarzyna Nowak is a seasoned writer with over five years of experience in editorial content, news reporting, and football sportsbook app reviews. As an author for Football News Today, she combines her deep understanding of the sports betting industry with a passion for football, delivering insightful and accurate content that keeps readers informed and engaged.
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