30th August 2025. Premier League.
That was a solid enough performance by Leeds against a side everyone expects to be up there with the very best come the end of the season. OK, we were perhaps slightly fortunate that the Toon were missing a couple of big players for one reason or another, but so were Leeds of course as we battled through without Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka again. Let’s hope one or both is back when the season restarts in a couple of weeks.
Many commentators predicted a draw for this game – I did myself, in my regular piece for the YEP, although I thought there would be goals in the game. Maybe I was a tad overoptimistic in predicting a 3 – 3 draw though!
This was a game of very, very few real chances – just two saves made by Lucas Perri for Leeds and one by Nick Pope for the Magpies. Perri ably dealt with two powerful swerving efforts from Jacob Murphy while Pope thwarted a last minute low snap-shot from Dominic Calvert-Lewin who was put through by the impressive Jayden Bogle. Other than that there were a few shots by both sides blocked before they went anywhere near goal and a couple that flew wide of the target. It was definitely a game dominated by the two defences.
Both these sides have struggled for goals this season and the reasons are clear in both cases. The Toon had one striker taking his role rather too literally as he remained ‘on strike’ while another was suspended following a red card against Liverpool last week. For Leeds, the two strikers used today both did OK; Nmecha played the majority of the game and worked hard but didn’t really get himself into any dangerous areas, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin (DCL) got the last twenty minutes. In that short period DCL again looked very useful and maybe, as we said after the chances he had at Hillsborough too, he just needs time to find the scoring touch that we all know he has shown in the past. I was sceptical that DCL was the right man for Leeds this season, but I have to say he’s growing on me and I think he’ll be ready to start a game after this next international break. There is no doubt he has impacted the game each time we’ve seen him, he’s finding pockets of space and has that strikers knack of being in the right place; he probably now just needs a goal to get him going.
The other thing that would help DCL though would be for Leeds to bring in a creative midfielder in the few hours left of the transfer window. We have an array of decent wingers but to be really effective going forward we desperately need some magic in the centre of the park too. Fingers crossed we are close to finding a creative midfielder. Without one, our strikers are going to be feeding on scraps.
Today saw encouraging displays from most players and suggested that, slowly but surely, this new team is getting its act together. Lucas Perri steadied our nerves over him with those two decent saves, while Sean Longstaff finally showed us what he can do, albeit no doubt spurred on by facing his former employer. Rodon and Struijk looked solid again and will take some shifting for Bijol or Bornauw to get a look in. Gudmundsson and Bogle look well suited to life in the Premier League too – Jayden Bogle continuing this season where he left of last May and he was my man of the match again today. Gruev and Stach didn’t look out of place and we know what Dan James and Willy Gnonto bring when they are on song. Nmecha did a job without suggesting he’s going to score a boatload of goals and DCL I mentioned above. If we could add in that touch of magic we need in the middle then I think we’d have all the tools to do decent job this season. Quite where Joel Piroe fits in the jigsaw I’m not sure.
So, one win, one defeat, and one draw from our opening three league games and I’m guessing most Leeds fans will be happy with that, especially bearing in mind the nature and quality of the three teams we’ve faced. We probably have to up that points ratio in the games coming up in the next little section of the season when we face Fulham and Wolves away, and Bournemouth and Tottenham at Elland Road but it’s a case of so far so good and let’s relax for a couple of weeks!
Premier League
Leeds United 0
Newcastle United 0
Leeds: Perri (GK), Bogle, Gudmundsson (Justin 80’), Struijk (C), Rodon, James (Aaronson 59’), Longstaff, Nmecha (Calvert-Lewin 70’), Stach, Gnonto (Harrison 60’), Gruev. Subs not used: Darlow (GK), Piroe, Bijol, Okafor, Bornauw.
Newcastle: Pope (GK), Trippier (Hall 62’), Botman (Barnes 69’), Schär, Tonali, Osula, Livramento, Murphy (Elanga 62’), Burn, Guimarães (C), Ramsey (Miley 46’). Subs not used: Ramsdale (GK), Lascelles, Thiaw, Krafth, Willock.
Referee: Peter Bankes
Booked: Gnonto (Leeds) Pope (Newcastle)
Venue: Elland Road
Attendance: 36,727
?
