Daniel Farke left ‘exhausted’ as Leeds produce superb comeback to beat Norwich

By Sports Desk October 21, 2023

Leeds manager Daniel Farke was full of praise for his players as they recovered from a 2-0 half-time deficit to win 3-2 at his former club Norwich.

The visitors moved up to third in the Championship table after producing a storming second-half display to maintain their upward momentum.

Farke admitted Norwich had given him an almighty scare but was delighted his new team found a way to prevail.

He said: “I am exhausted and ready for the sofa after that. It was a great game, a really good advert for the Championship between two good sides.

“Norwich made it very difficult for us, as I knew they would, but in the end I thought it was a deserved win.

“In the first half we created more chances than you would expect but we missed them and Norwich scored twice.

“Normally when you are 2-0 down at half-time you would say there was something wrong but I thought, no, we are playing well. We just need to stay on it and be more clinical and we were.

“It was a brilliant second half for us and a massive three points and all the praise has to go to the players. These sort of wins are the best when it comes to building up confidence and we are all delighted.”

Farke was jubilant at the final whistle but said he kept his celebrations in check out of respect to the home fans.

“It was quite emotional for me coming back to Norwich, which will always be a special place for me,” he said.

“I had four-and-a-half unbelievable years here. So I didn’t think it would be right to dance around and celebrate over the moon, even though I was so happy with my lads.”

Leeds wasted chance after chance in the opening period and were punished as Norwich took two of theirs.

Shane Duffy opened his account for the Canaries by heading home a fourth-minute corner from Gabriel Sara, who doubled their advantage in the 43rd minute when he powered through some weak tackling to blast home.

The visitors got back in it just past the hour mark as Duffy scored at the wrong end, deflecting a Dan James cross into his own net after it had eluded keeper George Long, on for the injured Angus Gunn.

The fortunate break gave Leeds the impetus to go on and win it, with Crysencio Summerville producing well-taken strikes in the 77th and 85th minutes to turn the game on its head.

Norwich head coach David Wagner felt there were positives for his team despite the heartbreaking finish.

“In football you get praised if you win and criticised if you lose but sometimes you have to look beyond the result,” he said.

“I have mixed emotions because although I am obviously disappointed with the result there were many things about our performance that pleased me.

“My job is not to get carried away if we win of it we lose. It is to look at the performance and if we continue to perform at a good level like that we will start winning games again.

“We were up against a very good side and that is why we conceded more chances than we would normally do.

“But we created plenty ourselves and I feel really sorry for the lads because they have put in a real shift out there.

“I saw plenty of good things although I was not happy with the way we defended for the first and third goals and that is something we need to look at.”

Related items

  • Chelsea quartet left at home as Bompastor rotates squad for Celtic clash Chelsea quartet left at home as Bompastor rotates squad for Celtic clash

    Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has said that they will be without four key players ahead of their Champions League game away to Celtic on Wednesday.

    Bompastor confirmed that Millie Bright, Mayra Ramirez, Sjoeke Nusken and Kadeisha Buchanan have not travelled to Scotland for their encounter at Celtic Park.

    The Blues know a victory will seal their progression to the knockout stages, though have decided to rest a few of their key players during a hectic fixture schedule. 

    Their trip to Scotland will be the second of three matches inside seven days in all competitions for Bompastor's side and, as a result, she has decided to rotate her squad.

    "The squad is in a good place and we have a good dynamic and we are full of confidence," she told a press conference

    "We have been playing a lot of games and this week we play three games so it’s important to manage players as individuals.

    “We have some players who didn’t travel for this game. Kadeisha Buchanan, Millie Bright, Sjoeke Nusken and Mayra Ramirez didn’t travel."

    Chelsea come into the game with a 100% record in all competitions under Bompastor, including two wins from two against Real Madrid and Twente in the Champions League.

    And they will be confident of maintaining their perfect run, having lost just one of their previous 20 group stage matches in the competition (W14 D5) and are unbeaten across their last 14 (W11 D3). 

    “As you know, Chelsea have a good squad with quality and a good team will start the game and be competitive because we want to finish first in this group," she said.

    Their early-season form has them second in the Women's Super League and top of their Champions League group, at least three points ahead of any other team.

    Despite resting players, Bompastor reassured people that it was Chelsea's ambition to fight on all fronts.

    “The Champions League is important and we have ambition and we want to make sure we finish first in the group," she said.

    “We have ambitions and if we want to go for all the competitions then you need to beat every team.

    “It will start again in March and that’s when the really important games start, but right now we are focused on the group stage.”

  • Campbell gives Sheffield United victory in Steel City derby, Rodriguez strikes late for Burnley Campbell gives Sheffield United victory in Steel City derby, Rodriguez strikes late for Burnley

    Sheffield United joined leaders Sunderland at the top of the Championship table after a hard-fought 1-0 win against local rivals Sheffield Wednesday.

    After a goalless first half, Tyrese Campbell latched onto a pass from Callum O'Hare and slotted past Wednesday goalkeeper James Beadle for the winner five minutes into the second period. 

    This was the Blades' sixth consecutive clean sheet at Bramall Lane and their fourth straight win home or away, and sees them go level with Sunderland on 31 points from 15 matches. 

    Meanwhile, Burnley are four points behind the top two after they snatched a last-gasp 1-0 victory against visitors Swansea City.

    Jay Rodriguez's stoppage-time penalty secured the points for the Clarets at Turf Moor, ending their four-match winless run and climbing to fourth in the table.

  • Leeds close gap on Championship leaders Sunderland Leeds close gap on Championship leaders Sunderland

    Leeds United closed the gap on Championship leaders Sunderland after Regis Le Bris' side collapsed at home to Coventry City on Saturday.

    Daniel Farke's side moved to within two points of Sunderland after coasting to a 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers at Elland Road.

    Jayden Bogle sliced home after 19 minutes for Leeds, who made sure of victory in stoppage time as Joel Piroe came off the bench to score.

    There was no such success for Sunderland despite Wilson Isidor and Dennis Cirkin both finding the net in the first half at the Stadium of Light.

    Haji Wright pulled one back for Coventry, who dismissed long-term boss Mark Robins this week, just past the hour before Jack Rudoni snatched a 2-2 comeback draw with six minutes remaining.

    At the other end of the table, Portsmouth managed just their second victory of the season with a 3-1 triumph over Preston North End at Fratton Park.

    Josh Murphy and Connor Ogilvie were both on target in the first half before Colby Bishop's late penalty sealed victory after Emil Riis Jakobsen had reduced the deficit for Paul Heckingbottom's visitors.

    Victory moved Portsmouth up to 23rd in the league, two points ahead of bottom side QPR and within three points of safety.

    Fellow strugglers Plymouth Argyle also gained a point as Adam Randell's 41st-minute strike cancelled out Jerry Yates' early opener for Derby County at Pride Park.

    The 1-1 draw leaves Wayne Rooney's side 16th in the table, but just one point clear of the relegation zone, while Derby sit comfortably 12th.

    Norwich City dropped down the table in Saturday's other game, suffering their first home defeat in the league in 22 games after a 2-0 reverse against Bristol City at Carrow Road.

    Anis Mehmeti and Nakhi Wells scored in either half for Liam Manning's visitors, who moved into 10th with a victory that left them just two points shy of the play-off positions.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.