Leeds United came from behind to draw 1-1 at home to Brentford on Sunday.
The Bees netted in the first-half via Kevin Schade (£6.0m), before Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m) equalised for Leeds late on.
Here are our Scout Notes from Elland Road.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 2: Sunday’s goals, assists, bonus + DefCon points
- MATCH STATS: Leeds United v Brentford stats in our Match Centre
CALVERT-LEWIN OFF THE MARK
Calvert-Lewin’s late strike earned a point for Leeds, who somewhat uncharacteristically found it difficult to keep pace with Brentford for much of this encounter.
You won’t get an easier finish from Calvert-Lewin, who tapped into an empty net from a few yards out, stabbing home substitute Lukas Nmecha’s (£5.5m) low cross.
But the point felt like a decent one for Leeds, after Brentford had controlled most of the match.
Daniel Farke made one alteration to his line-up from their opener, with Noah Okafor (£5.9m) in for Harry Wilson (£6.5m), who was on the bench.
However, after a slow start, Farke switched his system at half-time, moving to a back four.
Wilson and Ao Tanaka (£5.0m) came on for Jaka Bijol (£5.0m) and Brenden Aaronson (£5.5m), with the substitutions eventually paying off.
RODON INJURY LATEST
In a blow for Leeds, Joe Rodon (£4.5m) had to be subbed off in the first half with a suspected hamstring injury.
The severity of the issue will now be assessed ahead of Saturday’s trip to Brighton and Hove Albion.
“It looks like hamstring injury, so it was not possible for him to sprint and to run, it was painful. We have to assess him right now.
“I hope he’s not out too long because he’s a key player, and especially also in the centre position, we don’t have too many senior options. It was a difficult game for Nico Elvedi to come in, and I’m happy how he adapted to this game.
“Thank God, we have him meanwhile with us. But yeah, of course, it would be a big blow if Joe’s out for a while.” – Daniel Farke on Joe Rodon
New arrival Nico Elvedi (£4.5m) came on in his place, but a spell out for Rodon would leave Leeds short in this position, something they might potentially look to address before tomorrow’s transfer deadline.
Gabriel Gudmundsson (£4.5m), meanwhile, returned to the bench against Brentford.
DANGO BENCHED, ANDREWS ON LEWIS-POTTER
There were two alterations for Brentford from their opener.
Jaidon Anthony (£6.0m) came in on the right wing for Dango Ouattara (£6.5m), while Mikkel Damsgaard (£5.5m) replaced Mathias Jensen (£5.5m), who missed out due to a slight strain suffered in training.
In his pre-match press conference, Andrews had discussed rotation.
“I think the most challenging part at times is when you leave really good players, really good people out of the starting line-up, but I’m always quick to remind people we won’t achieve anything with 11 players. It has to be a team effort, it has to be a squad effort on any given day. And the impact that we can have from the bench is going to be key throughout the season.” – Keith Andrews
Rewarded for his fine midweek performance, Anthony failed to really take his chance.
However, Brentford’s winger on the opposite flank, Schade, did impress. A constant threat down the left, he netted his first goal of the season with a clever finish, guiding the ball into the far corner with the outside of his boot.
Left-back Keane Lewis-Potter (£5.5m) supplied the assist, his second attacking return of the season.
New positional rival El Hadji Malick Diouf (£4.5m) was on the bench on Sunday. When asked if Lewis-Potter could move further forward due to Diouf’s presence, Keith Andrews said…
“What I like about Keane Lewis is he’s versatile. I think it’s a super strength. And then sometimes when you are that versatile, you struggle to nail down one position. I think that’s pretty fair, when you scrutinise that, but he’s so invaluable to have in the squad. I mentioned it a few weeks ago, before we signed Malick, that I can envisage Keane playing in different positions throughout the season and I don’t think that will change.” – Keith Andrews on Keane Lewis-Potter
As for Igor Thiago (£8.0m), he had a couple of decent opportunities to put Brentford back in front.
His header was first parried by James Trafford (£5.0m), before the Brazilian put the rebound into the side netting.
Above: Igor Thiago’s xG shot map v Leeds
Two of Thiago’s misses on Sunday were Opta ‘big chances’. That’s three he’s now missed in the first two Gameweeks, the joint-most of any player.
All in all, however, this was another positive display from Brentford.
“We laid some really solid foundations last season that we want to build upon and it has been a good start to the season. We looked very calm and confident in the first half.” – Keith Andrews
USUAL SUSPECTS BANK DEFCON
The usual suspects banked defensive contribution (DefCon) points at Elland Road: the impressive Tarik Muharemovic (£5.0m), Anton Stach (£6.0m), Kristoffer Ajer (£4.5m), Nathan Collins (£5.5m) and Mamadou Sangare (£5.6m).
Ethan Ampadu (£5.5m) wasn’t far off, either.
As for Sangare, he had another positive run-out against Brentford. Not only did he bank DefCon for the second successive Gameweek, but he also recorded three shots from in/around the box.
“He’s an all-round midfielder. He’s not a holding midfielder, he’s not an attacking midfielder – he does a bit of everything. He’s got really good game understanding and he plays with a nice edge that I really like.” – Keith Andrews on Mamadou Sangare
