Leeds United travelled back from Merseyside with a hard-earned point after drawing 1-1 at Everton on Monday night. James Justin’s first-half opener was cancelled out by Thierno Barry on 76 minutes in a game of two halves in which either side dominated 45 minutes each.
Daniel Farke’s side should really have been more than one goal ahead at half-time, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin striking the post against his former club, but could well have left the Hill Dickinson Stadium with nothing after inviting pressure. Below, the YEP looks at a few key takeaways from the draw.
Farke knew he was going to be without Jaka Bijol at Everton and the Whites boss was unable to call on Gabriel Gudmundsson either. The Swedish international didn’t train on Thursday due to a small adductor issue and seemingly failed a late fitness test with his name not in the matchday squad graphic published at 6.45pm on Monday.
And with the pair missing, defensive cover on the Leeds bench was almost non-existent. Sam Byram was the only natural option ready to be introduced which meant Farke had little room to manoeuvre in-game, eventually removing Sebastiaan Bornauw and switching to a back-four.
Leeds will hope to have Gudmundsson back by Saturday and barring a setback, Bijol won’t be far behind, but the lack of defensive cover with just two absences is a little concerning. It’s perhaps something for Elland Road chiefs to think about over the next week or so.
Everton were the better side for the opening five minutes but as far as the first-half went, that was about it. After defending a couple of corners and crosses, Leeds asserted themselves onto the game and were excellent, Justin’s smart finish at the back post exactly what they deserved.
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They actually deserved more and were somewhat disappointed to only be one goal up at the break, with Calvert-Lewin coming close and chances to create a shooting opportunity not taken. Everton were simply not going to be as poor after half-time and Farke admitted his side should have been more ruthless while on top.
“We are a bit disappointed because we weren’t far away from winning it,” he told Sky Sports after full-time. “We were very dominant in the first half. We need to control the offensive game. We didn’t allow any chances in the first half. It was great for the boys to create situations and they should’ve scored. It was an excellent away performance.”
Those wasted chances would have been quickly forgotten had Farke’s side continued to kick on and double their lead after half-time, but they barely had a sniff in the second half. Whether by design or by Everton’s tactical tweaks, Leeds invited pressure towards their own goal and were unable to either keep possession or spring dangerous counter-attacks.
And in building momentum, Everton got their home crowd into the game and grew in confidence, eventually finding a deserved equaliser before hitting the crossbar minutes later. It was clear that those needed to get Leeds up the pitch – Calvert-Lewin, Brenden Aaronson and Anton Stach – were all tiring and it became wave after wave of Toffees attack.
Monday’s draw was just the second time from 10 occasions this season that Everton had conceded first and not lost, the only other team unable to hold onto victory being Crystal Palace. Perhaps the opportunity was there for Farke’s side to try and carry their first-half momentum into the second period, but in the end a point is not a bad result.
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