Leeds United 1-1 Villarreal: Piroe's Premier League role? 4-3-3? Squad depth?
The hosts had opportunities in the first-half but were unable to break Villarreal down. Anton Stach came closes, firing in a free-kick that flew just wide of the Villarreal goal.
Daniel Farke made a raft of changes for the second half. Leeds went behind for the first time in pre-season courtesy of a header in the 62nd minute from Etta Eyong. But they levelled in the 66th minute when Joel Piroe fired home after capitalising on a defensive mistake. A late Sam Byram header flew over the bar, which meant the match ended as a draw.
The Athletic's Beren Cross was there to take in the action on Saturday.
It's only pre-season. You can't take it seriously. The opposition weren't very good. There were tap-ins. There was a penalty. He's not even going to be first-choice striker next season.
Whatever excuses and caveats people may apply, Joel Piroe has had a very good pre-season up to now, with one friendly to go. There was the movement, vision and chances created against Manchester United in Sweden.
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Then there was the thrashed finish and spot-kick against lowly SC Verl, before a tidy finish against Paderborn and this tap-in against Villarreal. Last season's Championship Golden Boot winner can only beat the defences put in front of him and goal scoring is a habit he will not want to fall out of.
It is no secret Leeds want to add a first-rate striker good enough to keep Piroe out of the team in this window, but, right now, he's by far the best centre-forward at the club. He will be the chief threat, as it stands, Leeds take into the Everton match, and his confidence will only be buoyed by what he's done this summer.
The summer business had telegraphed this may be coming, but 4-3-3 does seem to be the current direction of travel that Farke is taking the team in. Adding Longstaff and Stach to a trio who already had designs on starting games next season was the indicator.
Captain Ampadu is almost certainly one of the first names on Farke's teamsheet going into the opening weeks of the season. Longstaff started well with two incisive passes, but Stach edged him out over his hour on the pitch.
The German was industrious with his running, but showed some neat touches in the final third as he tried to impact both boxes. Gruev seems like the out-and-out stand-in for Ampadu, while Tanaka has that vision and passing to compete with Longstaff for what feels like the final slot.
As a shape, inevitably, it needs work and will be refined as the season progresses. The full-backs have to provide the width when the ball is on their flank, but when it's on the opposite side, it was obvious how much they would tuck in to guard against counter-attacks.
Nmecha looked isolated as he ploughed that lone furrow. Predictably, in this shape, there was a gaping hole behind the striker, where a No 10 would be. Perhaps that is the sacrifice Farke has to make in keeping the overall team structure stronger against the ball next season.
Half of Leeds United's starting line-up on Saturday, give or take a few marginal calls, would arguably be absent from the club's strongest XI after the transfer window closes. Lucas Perri, Jayden Bogle, Jaka Bijol, Ao Tanaka, Daniel James and a yet-to-be-acquired attacking trio were all missing from the Villarreal friendly.
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This was a line-up which underlined the importance of strength in depth for the coming campaign. If United are to survive the coming season in the top flight, Daniel Farke needs to have understudies he can depend on.
Karl Darlow made a couple of important interventions during his 45 minutes. Isaac Schmidt, who is likely to leave before the window closes, showed he was a little off the pace and heavy with his touch after an injury lay-off.
His start showed why Leeds cannot afford to offload him until they have an adequate replacement through the door. Sean Longstaff started well with a couple of sharp passes into attack, but he seemed to fade thereafter.
The competition between him, Anton Stach, Ethan Ampadu, Ao Tanaka and Ilia Gruev is critical for Farke's choices in the engine room. In attack, we saw work rate and application from Lukas Nmecha and Brenden Aaronson, but an absence of cutting edge.
Leeds will face AC Milan in their final pre-season friendly in Dublin next weekend. They then take on Everton in their opening Premier League fixture on August 18.
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