Championship news: Leeds Utd capitulate at home to Swansea City to surrender top spot
Leeds United dropped more valuable points in the Championship promotion race thanks to a disappointing 2-2 draw with Swansea City at Elland Road on Saturday.
Despite the previously rampant Whites having now seen a five-point cushion to third evaporate in a matter of weeks, manager Daniel Farke remains defiant in the face of fan unrest.
“I am 100 per cent convinced we will play in the Premier League next season,” he said with a level of confidence that will undoubtedly send shivers of dread down the spines of Leeds supporters with only seven games to go.
Sports News Blitz writer Niall Togher reports on another underwhelming showing from the struggling Whites.
Costly errrors gift Swansea a point
After Brenden Aaronson opened the scoring within the first minute, Leeds looked set to return to winning ways.
However, when Joe Rodon brought down Lewis O’Brien in the box with a clumsy challenge and Illan Meslier was forced to deny Josh Tymon from the spot, it was apparent that the game would be anything but straightforward.
Despite their penalty being saved, Swansea were not discouraged and continued to grow into the game as any momentum Leeds had built vanished.
The visitors nearly scored after Ben Cabango’s header struck the woodwork before rebounding into the hands of Meslier, but the score remained 1-0 going into halftime.
Swansea eventually drew level when Meslier dropped yet another uncontested ball into the box at the feet of an opposition player and Harry Darling was on hand to poke it home.
Substitute Willy Gnonto then looked to have won the game for United late on, but yet another goalkeeping mistake from Meslier allowed Zan Vipotnik to score from an acute angle as Leeds dropped points for the fourth time in their last five games.
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More Meslier mistakes
If Leeds had a goalkeeper of similar quality to Burnley’s James Trafford and Sheffield United’s Michael Cooper, Whites supporters would already be planning how they were going to celebrate promotion instead of worrying about the run-in.
Meslier has been without a doubt Leeds’ worst player this season, having cost the team points on numerous occasions.
The corner he dropped at the feet of Darling and the shot from Vipotnik that he let in are hardly surprising mistakes.
Until the 64th minute, the Frenchman was actually having one of his better games of the campaign, stopping a penalty and making various other important saves.
However, if a goalkeeper has proved himself on numerous occasions to not be up to the required standard, at what point does the blame go to the manager for persisting with a ticking timebomb?
It is clear that Farke does not rate Karl Darlow or he would have been given a run in the team after one of Meslier’s many errors.
Now, with just seven games to go, fans cannot realistically expect any changes until the end of the season.
If Leeds are still a Championship club at the end of May, the goalkeeping position will be the main reason, and the management team will be kicking themselves that they did not solve an obvious problem earlier in the season.
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Gnonto to play a bigger part in the run-in
Willy Gnonto made an instant impact off the bench on Saturday when his driven effort from the edge of the box found the back of the net and sent Elland Road berserk as they thought they had witnessed yet another late winner.
The goal was the Italian’s sixth of the campaign, adding to his five assists.
Despite that record, the youngster has not started a game since November, which is a travesty for a player of such quality.
That exclusion has been somewhat understandable due to the form of Manor Solomon and Dan James, but their output has slowed in recent weeks and it feels as if they are being given generous leeway to retain their starting place ahead of Gnonto.
As a winger, his path into the starting line-up is admittedly harder, but he really should have been given more of an opportunity, at the very least in the number 10 role considering the poor form of Aaronson throughout 2025.
Hopefully, his goal against the Swans – along with an impressive cameo appearance off the bench against QPR before the international break – is enough to encourage Farke to use him more for the rest of the season.
Looking ahead to Luton
Up next for Leeds is another dreaded 12:30 kick-off as they travel to Kenilworth Road to play Luton Town.
The Whites have struggled this season with early kick-offs, putting in many flat and lacklustre displays in that slot.
After Saturday’s result, though, the magnitude of the clash with Luton has skyrocketed, and it will be crucial for Farke’s men to come out with intensity right from the get-go against a side that are fighting for their lives at the foot of the table.
MORE FROM NIALL TOGHER: Leeds Utd news: Daniel Farke’s dilemma – Should Junior Firpo stay or go?
