Leeds United moved out of the relegation zone in the Premier League this week with an impressive 3-1 win over Chelsea at Elland Road on Wednesday night, in a game that was underpinned by Daniel Farke’s structural changes.
The German head coach, who has typically deployed a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 formation during his time at the club, opted to start with a 3-5-2 system against Enzo Maresca’s team.
It worked wonders for the Whites as they went on to claim all three points, thanks to goals from Jaka Bijol, Ao Tanaka, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Why Leeds United’s formation change worked so well
Changing from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2 worked so well for the Whites because it allowed Jayden Bogle, who assisted the second goal, and Gabriel Gudmundsson to push higher up the pitch with three centre-backs providing enough cover defensively.
It also meant that the Whites could play with two strikers, instead of leaving one isolated on their own, and that led to Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha causing plenty of problems.
The two centre-forwards combined to win 13 duels against the Chelsea defenders and won four fouls, without committing any, per Sofascore, which shows that they were a nightmare to deal with throughout the game.
Nmecha, in particular, has benefitted from having Calvert-Lewin’s physicality alongside him. The German forward, who has scored four Premier League goals, has lost 69% of his ground duels this season, per Sofascore, which shows that he struggles with the physical side of leading the line on his own.
Having another, more physical, striker alongside him means that he can focus on making runs in behind and pressing opposition defenders, which is what makes it such an effective pairing, or at least what made it so effective against Chelsea.
Whilst Nmecha and Calvert-Lewin got the job done on Wednesday, Harry Gray could be perfect for the new role that Nmecha is now playing for Leeds.
Why Harry Gray should be unleashed in Lukas Nmecha’s new role
Bringing young players into the first-team is difficult in any circumstance, but even more so in the Premier League with all that is at stake in a relegation battle.
Academy talents are not used to the physicality of professional football and may need time to adapt, particularly strikers, which is why this new role that Nmecha has could be perfect for Gray.
Farke must finally unleash the 17-year-old centre-forward for his Premier League debut in the coming weeks because playing alongside an experienced striker like Calvert-Lewin could be an ideal introduction to regular football at senior level.
Gray, who was described as the club’s “newest Wonderkid” by talent scout Jacek Kulig and his contributor Joe Blackburn, has scored a whopping ten goals in 11 games in all competitions for the academy this season, per Transfermarkt.
25/26 EFL Trophy
Harry Gray
Appearances
3
Goals
2
Conversion rate
50%
Assists
1
Dribbles completed per game
2.0
Ground duel success rate
52%
Aerial duel success rate
38%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the teenage forward has scored two goals in three EFL Trophy games, playing against League One and League Two sides, but has struggled with the aerial duels in those games.
This suggests that he would not be well-suited to playing as a lone striker in the Premier League for Leeds, as he would need to duel with towering top-flight centre-backs and hold the ball up under intense pressure, which is also where Nmecha struggled earlier this season.
Therefore, playing alongside Calvert-Lewin, who won six of his nine aerial duels against Chelsea (Sofascore), could be the perfect way for him to be introduced into the first-team this season.
Gray’s return of 14 goals in 20 U21s games and eight goals in 11 U18s matches for Leeds, per Transfermarkt, shows that he has the technical and goalscoring qualities to potentially make an impact for the Whites, but it is the physicality that is questionable.
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This change in formation from Farke, though, may alleviate those concerns because of how the two-striker system works, and that is why the manager should unleash the teen sensation in Nmecha’s role in the coming weeks.
