‘Incredibly strong’ Leeds will take some stopping in title race – Chris Wilder

Posted Saturday, October 19, 2024 by PA

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder said Leeds will be the team to beat in this season’s Sky Bet Championship title race after his side went down 2-0 at Elland Road.

Wilder’s men slipped to their first league defeat of the season and conceded their first league goals in seven matches as Leeds skipper Pascal Struijk and Mateo Joseph were both on target.

Leeds fully deserved to extend their unbeaten run to five games to leapfrog their Yorkshire rivals into second place in the table and Wilder had no complaints.

Wilder said: “There’s going to be teams that have their moments and have their good times and their not so good times, but I think anybody who finishes above Leeds… and I’m not sure anybody will do.

“I’ve got no complaints in terms of the result. They’ve got outstanding players, the squad’s laden with top players and we have to brush ourselves down and go again.

“It’s been a good start, but we haven’t played anybody of this calibre.”

The Blades had last conceded a league goal in a 1-1 draw at Norwich at the end of August before facing their local rivals and were hoping to climb into top spot by extending their unbeaten start to their league campaign.

Leeds had nothing to show for their first-half dominance but took a deserved 69th-minute lead through Struijk’s superb first-time finish from a corner and substitute Joseph sealed victory in the 90th minute.

“Beaten by the better side, no doubt about it,” Wilder added. “We didn’t deserve anything from the game.

“It was disappointing to lose the goals as we did, but they created the clearer chances.

“(Leeds have) an incredibly strong squad. The investment in the group is there and, when you have the highest wage bill in Championship history, you’ve got really goods players.”

Leeds head coach Daniel Farke was grateful for Wilder’s comments but insisted a long season lay ahead for every team in the second tier.

Farke said: “Chris is a top manager and a very experienced guy. If he says this about a side then you can definitely take it as a compliment.

“I’d rather take it than criticism. But sadly it’s not a guarantee that we can rest.

“We are on a good path, we know this. We’re in good shape, It was a really good performance. We’re looking rock solid defensively and creating chances.

“But in this league, to be successful you also need a bit of luck in terms of injuries and so far it’s a tricky situation.

“We are perhaps just one or two injuries away from really big problems in order to pick a starting line-up.

“One or two injuries or one or two poor weeks can stop your run. We’ll take the compliments, my team deserves it, but it’s no guarantee that everything will go well.”