Daniel Farke expresses gratitude to the Leeds United players for saving him from a “long day at the office” during the Swansea City match.

Daniel Farke thanked his Leeds United players for allaying the early fears he had about their game against Swansea City.

The game began wildly, with the Swans scoring a legitimate goal in the first minute and Dan James having one disallowed.

Even though Leeds’ defense looked a little shoddy at first, they quickly composed themselves, canceling out Jamie Paterson’s goal and adding another through Georginio Rutter towards the end of the half.

“Rutter’s goal gave the game an air of reassurance which Leeds held onto until the job was done.”

“Today after one minute you think you’re in the lead and you think, ‘Happy days’ but the goal’s disallowed and we conceded out of nothing,” stated Farke.

“I thought that today might be a really long day at work because Swansea is a really good football team that can cause problems, especially when they play with confidence and are good on the counter-attack, but I have to give my guys some props.

“Despite the fact that the first half of the match was challenging and intricate, we maintained our composure and played flawlessly. We didn’t waste any opportunities.

“They gave us some possession problems, and we had some pressing issues, but we managed to turn the tide of the match with two outstanding goals before halftime and one or two more excellent opportunities.

“We discussed a few pressing details that we wanted to change to gain more control over the game against the ball, and that’s what we did, which is why the second half was more impressive.

“Earlier on, we blew the opportunity to score the third goal. The only thing I could possibly find fault with was our effectiveness. I just looked, and we scored seven or eight times as many goals as Swansea was predicted to.

“All in all it was a pretty mature performance and a well-deserved win.”

It was significant that Rutter’s goal, which came just seconds before the half, was scored after he stole a pass from Ethan Ampadu.

It’s always a positive psychological and confidence boost to score that close to halftime. The opponent finds it a little challenging to handle as well,” the manager remarked.

“You enter the dressing room in a positive frame of mind, but it didn’t really affect the team conversation because, in my opinion, we could have improved the pressing details and that’s what we discussed anyhow.

However, the overall tone and confidence of the second half altered, and tactically speaking, it was advantageous to start the second half ahead of schedule because the opposition had to open up a little more, but we prevented them from further developing the game because of our pressing was more spot on and more focused so we had everything in control against the ball against a really good footballing side.”

Leeds’ “Premier League quality” was cited by Swansea manager Michael Duff as the reason for the team’s victory.

“(It was) a disappointing evening in terms of the result, I thought the performance was really good, in the first half we were excellent, but ultimately we conceded poor goals at poor times, it’s been the killer,” said the former manager of Barnsley.

“We had a warning shot in the first minute, scored a goal, and then conceded three minutes later—something you cannot do—before giving up with the game’s final kick in the first half.

“If we go in at 1-0, the second half of the game is different.

However, we urged the players to display bravery and personality. I felt we really battled through them, but in the end, Premier League caliber undid us.

“Crysencio, Summerville’s first goal, is excellent. It’s not a justification, but sometimes you just have to put up your hands and admit that the goal was a good one.

“He played a one-two, he put the ball in the only spot where Bash (Bashir Humphreys), Josh Tymon, or Carl (Rushworth) couldn’t get it, and he even made the pass and touch for the second goal. Ollie Cooper lost the ball close to the halfway line, but Rutter’s pass to goal scorer James was flawless.

“This location is the most challenging in the entire league.

“When they find a pocket (of space) they can really hurt you.”