Leeds United rounded off their impressive pre-season campaign with a fourth win in four, thanks to a 2-1 victory over La Liga side Valencia CF at Elland Road.
Wins against Harrogate Town, Hannover 96 and Schalke saw the Whites head into the clash in fine form against strong Spanish opposition, but a blistering start saw Mateo Joseph continue his high-scoring summer with the opener at a packed-out Elland Road, before Georginio Rutter’s audacious chip made it two before the break.
Speaking after the full-time whistle, Whites' boss Daniel Farke was full of praise for his side’s performance, and their wider pre-season preparations.
“A really good performance,” the German told LUTV. “Even in the first half we had a few mistakes, so it could have been more dominant.
“We scored two fantastic goals, looked sharp and dangerous, out of all phases in our game, counter attacks, set pieces, and open play. We didn’t give one chance away, so a pretty dominating performance. In the second half we should have scored a few more.
“Normally I am annoyed when we concede a 90th minute goal, but overall I have to say the lads defended so well in this pre-season and we had many young players on the pitch. It was unlucky because the ball was twice deflected when it went in after a set piece.
“Overall, it feels like a performance that deserved an even bigger win than just 2-1. It wasn’t perfect, we have space for improvement, but overall a really good game and a really good finish to an impressive pre-season so far.”
Forwards Joseph and Georginio have been in scintillating form across the friendlies and continued to impress as they each scored superbly in the first half, leaving Farke delighted with their displays.
“If you’re a striker you want to be involved in end product, goals and assists, Mateo had an impressive pre-season and he delivered again today with a really good performance. He scored a fantastic goal.
“I am pretty pleased with him, he found a good mix between keeping the ball and also stretching the opponent with runs behind, so it was definitely a good performance.
“Georginio is so precious and his potential, even today, he was like a young horse who was unplayable at times. He’s a great character to have around, normally always smiling.
“We love to work with him and it is fully deserved Elland Road was singing his name again because he was fantastic. He has improved friendly on friendly.
“It’s also a great atmosphere, great staff members and players, it’s great to work with them. Yes, we still have to prepare a bit to have enough energy for this marathon, so for that we can’t burn like a candle from both ends.
“We have to make sure we’re on fire but not too much in the beginning, that we still have a few more gears to go. This is what we’re trying to do.”
Read the full match report HERE.
