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Leeds United now sit on 40 points after last night’s 2-2 draw at Bournemouth
Daniel Farke says he is “confident” that Leeds United will stay in the Premier League given the “good shape” the team are in amid their seven-game unbeaten run across all competitions.
Following Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, the Whites now sit on 40 points, which would have been enough to secure safety in 90% of previous Premier League seasons. Indeed, Leeds sit nine points clear of the drop zone with four games left to play, albeit 18th-place Tottenham Hotspur have a game in hand. They travel to bottom club Wolves this weekend.
Leeds will now gear up to the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley with momentum and confidence, knowing that they are almost there in the Premier League. No team has been relegated on 43 points, and a win over relegated Burnley in their next game would take them to that.
Asked about his thoughts on safety, Farke replied: “I’m confident. I’m experienced and long enough in this business that we will just celebrate once it’s mathematically done. But I’m confident.
“We are on 40 points. We are seven games unbeaten in all competitions. And why should we lose right now all of the last four games? We’re in good shape. I think for us, it’s a very priceless point, not just for the table, but… in the last games, we have won many games with fantastic football at times.
“Today [vs Bournemouth] was a point of mentality, of fight, of belief, of dealing in setbacks, of togetherness, of spirit. Bournemouth are a very, very strong opponent. It was a difficult game.
“They were 13 games unbeaten. They knew just before the game that Andoni would leave. You could feel that the whole stadium wanted the win today, and they played very emotionally. It was difficult for us. I’m pretty proud of this performance, and it leaves us in a really good position.”
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Jayden Bogle suffered a hit to the foot and was taken off at the break while Sebastiaan Bornauw was unable to take part in the half-time warm-up with an apparent problem. Ilia Gruev has picked up a knee meniscus injury in training and could be set for a long time out while Anton Stach is touch-and-go for Sunday at best.
Nevertheless, Ao Tanaka continued his good run of form, match hero Sean Longstaff showed his credentials with his super volleyed equaliser and Joe Rodon got much-needed 45 minutes of action following an ankle injury. Leeds take momentum into the FA Cup semi-final.
Farke added: “It feels today like a win, and this type of winning points is sometimes more important than the easy 3-0 or 4-0. This is important for the group, for the mentality, for the spirit, and also to know we [don’t] just win points when we are at our very best, dominating like we’ve done in the last last game.
“So we believe that in a scruffy game for us, and now we can also fight our way to a point. That’s what we’ve done, and it’s a perfect morale boost, not just for the cup game, but also for the run-in anyhow. Definitely good for us.”
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