Daniel Farke’s selection decisions were scrutinized once more on Saturday afternoon, as the German made a few surprises while choosing and modifying his Leeds United team to face Blackburn Rovers.
Leeds faced Daniel Farke’s nemesis, John Eustace, at Elland Road on Saturday, having lost the previous three encounters with Eustace since taking over at Leeds – one to Birmingham and two to Blackburn.
Eustace appeared to have the upper hand with Farke once more as Blackburn pushed Leeds to the brink of defeat. A Leeds team that has been absolutely magnificent at Elland Road throughout the 2024-25 season.
Pascal Struijk believed he had won it when he scored a penalty after Mateo Joseph was brought down in the box, but Blackburn responded with a goal from a corner kick from centre-back Danny Batth.
Daniel Farke made some surprising moves on Saturday.
The first was the decision to drop captain Ethan Ampadu from his starting Leeds XI. Farke made four changes from the Derby triumph, including replacing Ampadu in midfield with Joe Rothwell.
Then came the decision to remove Manor Solomon. Tony Dorigo, who was on duty for LUTV, was taken aback by Solomon’s replacement, and Solomon tossed his gloves into the Leeds dugout in protest.
Farke has revealed why he benched Ampadu before bringing him on early in the second half for Bogle: “He was out for two and a half months, then four games in a row in the starting lineup,” he stated.
“Sports scientists raised a few red flags, so it appeared that his recovery was not going well. We cannot afford to lose him for another eight weeks, so we are cautious. “We have good options,” Farke said following Saturday’s draw.
Leeds was a better team with Ethan Ampadu on the pitch.
But Farke’s theory makes logic. Losing Ampadu for 45 minutes is far preferable to damaging his knee and going weeks or months without the Wales ace, who has recently demonstrated his significance.
However, it would have made more sense for Farke to rest Ampadu in a game against Derby County rather than leaving him out against a squad that Farke plainly does not know how to beat.
In any case, Ampadu appears to have emerged unhurt from the 1-1 draw and will now be considered for a starting spot when Leeds go to Hull on Saturday. Jayden Bogle and Sam Byram may also be available to play.
