A key part of the success enjoyed by Daniel Farke’s Leeds United so far this season is the defensive work put in since the first two games of the 2024-25 campaign.
Leeds currently sit in fourth position after four games and remain unbeaten ahead of Friday’s crucial Championship clash against promotion rivals Burnley, who boast Jaidon Anthony and Connor Roberts.
Three conceded on the opening day against newly-promoted Portsmouth was then followed by three conceded against Middlesbrough in the Cup. But since then, Leeds have three clean sheets in a row.
Conceding three against Portsmouth was harsh given Pompey only had one chance, a long shot and a penalty. Against Boro, Farke made eight changes to a side who knew Georginio Rutter was about to leave.
Three clean sheets in a row with Pascal Struijk absolutely crucial
Three shutouts have followed. Leeds played defensively at West Brom, a side that took four points off Leeds under Carlos Corberan last season. A 0-0 draw at the Hawthorns was a solid result after the start.
Then, two very solid 2-0 wins over Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City have followed. A Hull side that have spent big after Liam Rosenior’s exit and a key part of that has been the return of defender Pascal Struijk.
The 25-year-old failed to play a single game after the turn of the year due to injury but he is making up for last time, almost as if he is a new signing this term and allowing Ethan Ampadu to return to midfield.
Struijk is joint top in one crucial Championship stat right now
It is always hard to pinpoint how a defender has been so good, but easy to spot the mistakes. However, Struijk has not made any mistakes and digging into his stats so far, he is joint top in one crucial area.
That stat is interceptions. WhoScored say he is one of only four players to have made 10 Championship interceptions so far, alongside Millwall duo Joe Bryan and George Saville and Sunderland’s Dennis Cirkin.
Quite simply, Struijk is adding intelligence to the defence. Stopping attacks before it gets any worse by reading the game and cutting it out with a midfielder’s brain, pivotal to Leeds’ run of three clean sheets.
Leave a Reply