Leeds United 1 (Calvert-Lewin 79)
Brentford 1 (Schade 41)
30th August 2026. English Premier League.
35,974.
Despite the two excellent wins at The City Ground this week, I felt that the clash with the Bees would be far more likely to tell us where we might be in the Premier League pecking order this season. Brentford walloped an expensively assembled Spurs side last weekend and then hammered a decent Birmingham XI in midweek in the cup, so most commentators already had them down as likely top six material this campaign. For an hour or more against Leeds today they absolutely looked the part– dominating in terms of shots and touches in the box, looking sharp all over the pitch with pace and accurate passing and great movement.
Having said all that though, the Leeds defence dealt with pretty much everything they threw at us, and it was only one incredible piece of improvised skill, a very clever volleyed flick from Kevin Schade in the 41st minute, that separated the teams at the break. For me, our first-half display again suggested that the Leeds defence is going to be amongst the best in class this season and I doubt many sides will cope with Brentford the way we did and limit the damage any more than we did.
Going forward, we were nowhere near as impressive today, and hopefully we will be better next week down at Brighton. We’ve seen better approach play many times in pre-season with these players, so we know it’s in there. Maybe the switch of Noah Okafor in place of Harry Wilson was an attempt to energise the attack, but it didn’t pay off.
But we did at least show today that we are flexible, that we have great options on the bench capable of turning a game around, not something we’ve been blessed with in recent years. At the break, Daniel Farke changed the system and the personnel, bringing on Ao Tanaka and Harry Wilson and sacrificing Jaka Bijol at the back and Brenden Aaronson up front. Leeds almost immediately gained a foothold in the match, and the second half was just about even as a contest, and Leeds probably even had the better, clearer-cut chances.
Boosting the midfield stopped the Bees buzzing quite so much, and then introducing the pace and width of Dan James and Lukas Nmecha completed the turnaround as Leeds took control. Perhaps Dan James should have scored when he was sent clear by Nmecha with a clever touch on halfway, but as we see so often with Dan these days, he just isn’t clinical in either his shooting, his decision-making or, often, his crossing. This time he looked to have waited far too long before trying to chip the keeper, and then he got it wrong anyway, missing the target. I love Dan as a winger but boy can he be erratic! We saw him put away a more difficult chance at Forest!
Dan did play a part in the equaliser, though, when it came in the 79th minute, as Leeds finally got into their groove and, for the first time, looked the superior side out there. Dan James fed Ampadu; he found Nmecha, and his fierce low cross was turned in by DCL. Dom had another chance too, latching onto a ball in the area from Elvedi, but Keleher smothered that one; maybe looking at it again, Dom might feel he could have done better with that one. The scale of the turnaround can be seen from the way the Bees had to resort to foul play late in the game - offering a couple of good pops at goal for Anton Stach but it wasn't to be. Incidentally, according to the BBC stats, Leeds commited only 5 fouls all game compared with 13 by the Bees. Not sure what that means but it's at the very least unusual.
So, by the end, Leeds may feel they missed out on a couple of points, but a terrific late-on save by James Trafford from a Thiago header was also vital. I have to say, thus far JT has been faultless, and he does have an uncanny knack of knowing where the ball is going to go! A few loose clearances are about all he’d done wrong so far. Overall, therefore, it was a well-earned point against what I expect to be a top team this season, and four points from two throughout the season will be just dandy!
The injury to Joe Rodon is a blow, without a doubt. Nico Elvedi looks an able deputy but we are then looking thin on the bench for specialist centre-backs.
Another tough-looking game coming up next week at Brighton will tell us even more about our chances.
Game Statistics:
Leeds Utd Brentford
Possession 47% 53%
Shots 12 22
On Target 2 5
Corners 5 6
Fouls 5 13
