Elland Road erupted late on as Lukas Nmecha despatched a powerful penalty beyond the dive of Jordan Pickford to earn a memorable opening night victory for Leeds United on their return to the Premier League.
“I think overall in a tight game, a hard-fought win but also a well-deserved win from my side,” manager Daniel Farke told the media after the full-time whistle. “Outstanding performance. I think we were very dominant in the first half.
“So, I am pretty pleased that we were able in the second half to reward ourselves with this goal and also to protect this clean sheet. I think all in all, we have won against a really good and very experienced Premier League side.”
The result in the Whites’ maiden bout back in the top-flight continued the momentum after what had been an incredibly productive summer. As skipper Ethan Ampadu lifted the Sky Bet Championship trophy aloft in Plymouth last May, the hard work was already being done behind the scenes to help complement an elite squad by second division standards with the experience and flair required to cut it at the top table.
As the window slammed shut, 10 new arrivals had walked through the door at Thorp Arch, strengthening the team throughout. Brazilian Lucas Perri took the number 1 jersey while Jaka Bijol, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Gabriel Gudmundsson and James Justin bolstered the defensive ranks.
In the engine room, Newcastle United’s Sean Longstaff brought the Premier League knowhow, while creativity – both on the pitch and on social media – came through Germany international Anton Stach.
Prior to the campaign, Noah Okafor had produced a scintillating display at the Aviva Stadium as United entertained AC Milan, though in the red and black of the Italian giants, perhaps playing a role in helping the Swiss star make the Elland Road switch less than two weeks later. Adding to the threat of last season’s Championship Golden Boot winner Joël Piroe was Dominic Calvert-Lewin – more on him throughout this series – and opening night matchwinner Nmecha.
The sold-out ground in Dublin was a sea of blue, yellow and white, leaving an impression on Noah who laughed discussing that support on his first interview with LUTV. The beep machine was needed as he wondered why so many were in attendance. For Stach, when asked what he knew about the club, ‘Dirty Leeds’ sprung to mind.
If the highs of the Everton victory got the Leeds faithful dreaming of a straightforward stroll to survival, the heavy defeat at eventual champions Arsenal next time out was a timely reminder of the magnitude of the task at hand.
None of the six promoted clubs across the previous two seasons had achieved safety but, after a difficult League Cup exit at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday, Farke’s men got back on track with a hard-fought goalless draw against Champions League outfit Newcastle United at Elland Road.
Reflecting on the stalemate with his former employers, Longstaff said: “I thought we were really good today, defended really well. Obviously, you can probably be slightly better on the ball at times but I think for us it was definitely a step in the right direction.
“From the first minute to the very last, you never feel you can sort of switch off for a second because a good team can take advantage of that. I think we unfortunately sort of felt that last weekend at Arsenal. It was sort of little moments in the game where they were really good. It cost us but I thought today everyone sort of was switched on the full game and done really well.”
After the opening trio of encounters, Leeds’ four points saw them sitting 12th in the standings to end the month going into the season’s first international break.
