soccer

Why Leeds would be flying high without league-worst late-goal record

Leeds' players looked dejected after conceding a late equaliser at Aston Villa on Saturday [Getty Images]

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke described the 1-1 Premier League draw with third-placed Aston Villa as "a valuable point" for his "warriors" - but the German must have been secretly seething at the concession of yet another costly late goal.

Tammy Abraham's leveller with two minutes of normal time to play at Villa Park on Saturday was the 12th league goal Leeds have let in from the 86th minute onwards this season.

That is the most goals shipped in that period of the game by any club in the top flight.

While half of those last-gasp strikes have not affected Leeds' results, the other half have - meaning the Whites have dropped a league-high nine points at the death.

Startlingly, if every Premier League game had ended after 85 minutes this season, Leeds would be seventh in the table and challenging for Europe.

Instead, they are actually 15th - just six points above the relegation zone.

The most notable turnaround came last month when Farke's side snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in a seven-goal thriller at St James' Park.

Leeds were 3-2 up when the clock struck 90 minutes before Newcastle scored twice in added time to win 4-3.

The first of those two goals was a 91st-minute Bruno Guimaraes penalty - the fourth spot-kick Leeds have given away in added time this term. Harvey Barnes then clinched it for Newcastle in the 102nd minute, the latest match-winning Premier League goal on record.

Throw in a 94th-minute own goal from Gabriel Gudmundsson during September's visit to Fulham that gifted the Cottagers all three points, and the pattern does raise questions about Leeds' fitness and concentration in the latter stages.

"For me it can only be a concentration issue," says former Leeds and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson. "I don't think it's down to fitness - two or three minutes at the end of the game is neither here nor there for these players.

"There are various types of goals in there - penalties, an own goal, others that are harder to legislate for. Any goal, if you break it down, you can pick out an error or a lapse of concentration somewhere along the chain. Maybe sometimes there's a lack of leadership in the dying minutes.

"The Leeds fans won't care as long as they stay up but, at the minute, they're drawing too many games and they're right in the mix."

Of course, Leeds have also benefited from late goals this season too.

Ao Tanaka smashed home a 96th-minute equaliser against Liverpool at Elland Road in December, while Lukas Nmecha's fine volley in the 91st minute sealed all three points against Fulham last month.

Ultimately, Farke deserves credit for Leeds' turnaround in fortunes since switching to a 3-5-2 formation at half-time against Manchester City in late November - a game City won in the 91st minute through Phil Foden.

A run of just two defeats in the subsequent 14 league games has moved Leeds out of the relegation zone.

But when Farke reflects on his side's late-goal problem, he might be left wondering: "What if?"

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