Leeds United would have walked off at the end of a first-leg stalemate at Norwich City pleased with the grit on display in defence, even if their attacking game was somewhat non-existent.
The likes of Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu in the heart of the Whites back four ensured the Canaries were kept at arm's length throughout, receiving various plaudits after the dust had settled at Carrow Road.
Yet, there would have been some frustration amongst the Leeds fanbase at the lack of creativity on show when the visitors from West Yorkshire attempted to bomb forward with Wilfried Gnonto notably failing to spark into life in Norfolk.
Wilfried Gnonto's performance vs Norwich in numbers
The Italian winger was hauled off by Farke on the 70-minute mark, with his performance below-par compared to the standards he's set before down the flanks for Leeds.
Helping himself to nine goals during the regular campaign, there was no danger from a Canaries perspective that he would add more strikes to his account in the lunchtime kick-off with just one effort being registered which was blocked by a yellow shirt.
Only amassing 34 touches of the ball too, with nervy Whites goalkeeper Illan Meslier even bettering this lacklustre total with 46, the ex-FC Zurich dynamo was also quiet with his accurate passes tally only coming in at 13.
Leeds Live's Beren Cross dished out a poor 5/10 rating to Gnonto post-match as a result, with Cross stating that the out-of-sorts 20-year-old 'battled well' but 'never got' into dangerous enough positions to regularly test the home side's back four.
Minutes played
70
Touches
34
Accurate passes
13/17 (76%)
Shots on target
0
Successful dribbles
1/3
Duels won
4/10
Possession lost
14x
Stats by Sofascore
Giving possession up 14 times in total at Carrow Road also, Farke could now look to drop his usually dependable ace to freshen up the attack for the second leg.
The main option to come in as the Italian's replacement looks to be Daniel James, who will hope to battle back from his recent injury issues and become a key star in Leeds progressing to Wembley this coming Thursday night if selected.
The player that could replace Gnonto
Given a very brief three-minute run-out against David Wagner's hosts on Sunday lunchtime, James could now be drafted in from the start to give the Whites more energy and drive going forward to overwhelm a tricky Norwich side back in West Yorkshire.
The tenacious Welshman managed to win two duels despite only being on the pitch a matter of moments in the first leg, eager to leave his mark on proceedings in a more obvious way in the second match-up now.
When the two teams met in the regular season at Elland Road, James ended up assisted the only goal of the game to hand Leeds a narrow 1-0 victory – the ex-Manchester United attacker beautifully picking out Patrick Bamford with a sublime cross to head home.
Bamford won't be present owing to injury, but Farke will pray James can be as effective as he was in this close encounter back in January when push comes to shove in the playoffs.
Picking up a staggering 20 goal contributions from 44 clashes before these tense contests got underway, James will have the bit between his teeth to star in the second leg having had to become a background figure as of late with his injury troubles.
Whatever happens, Farke will just want a more open affair on home soil with Leeds potentially putting on a show to then seal a huge showdown at Wembley to be just one game away from a Premier League return.
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ByKelan SarsonMay 12, 2024