Pundits praise ‘magnificent’ Leeds as Whites extend unbeaten run at Anfield | OneFootball

Leeds United’s quietly growing reputation as one of the Premier League’s most difficult sides to play against was further enhanced on Thursday evening, as Daniel Farke’s men battled to a disciplined and deserved 0-0 draw with Liverpool at Anfield.

The result extends the Whites’ unbeaten run to six league matches, a sequence that has seen Leeds take points off some of the division’s most established sides - and one that is now beginning to turn heads in the national media.

Former Manchester City and England defender Micah Richards was quick to highlight both the scale and the significance of Leeds’ recent run.

“If you look at the games - Chelsea, Liverpool, Brentford, Palace - you think if you get a few draws, maybe a win, then you’ve done your job,” Richards said on Sky Sports. “But to go through those games and get the amount of points Leeds have, when everyone wrote them off, it’s been magnificent.”

Richards was also keen to challenge the growing perception that Leeds are merely functional.

“With Leeds, I don’t like the way that everyone just talks about them like they’re a set-piece team that are hard to beat,” he added. “Yes, they were hard to beat against Liverpool, but they can also play with energy, be compact and be aggressive, which all stems from the manager. They are really good to watch, especially at home as well.”

On Match of the Day, former England captain Steph Houghton pointed to the structure and organisation that has underpinned Leeds’ revival.

“Six unbeaten now - what they have done over the last few games, they have been really organised,” Houghton explained. “That midfield of Stach, Gruev and Ampadu has been really impressive at protecting the back line, but also just knowing when to challenge for the ball.”

Houghton praised Leeds’ central compactness and the way Farke’s side forced Liverpool into less effective attacking areas.

“They’ve been compact centrally, they’ve tried to make Liverpool play around them, forcing Liverpool into poor decision-making. If you look at how many bodies Leeds had in the box, when Liverpool do cross, it’s really hard for Ekitike to score. They’ve definitely turned a corner, not just by luck but with very good coaching.”

Former Leeds goalkeeper Nigel Martyn echoed those sentiments on LUTV’s Extra Time show.

“Defensively, Leeds were very solid,” Martyn said. “Liverpool were disappointing in a forward sense - they didn’t really have any width and didn’t cause the issues they could have done. Leeds were happy with all the play in the middle, found that a lot easier to defend and the boys executed the plan perfectly.”

Club legend Tony Dorigo also singled out the unity and discipline shown by the Whites.

“It’s amazing how the confidence is spreading through the side,” Dorigo reflected. “We knew it was going to be difficult, but we had to be disciplined, resolute and, when we had the ball, take it to them.”

“Bornauw - I thought he was superb - James Justin defended really, really well, and Gruev had a difficult job to do in midfield… but they all did it really well.”