It has gone under the radar a little that, if it wasn’t for a seemingly imperious Burnley backline, Daniel Farke’s Leeds United would have broken the Championship record for the least goals conceded in a single campaign.
With just one matchday remaining, Burnley and Leeds sit first and second in the all-time list.
The Yorkshire giants will remain there, too, if they keep a clean sheet away at Plymouth Argyle in next week’s curtain closer at Home Park.
While their tally of 29 concessions is double Burnley’s own remarkable numbers, an average of 0.6 goals conceded per game is superior to the Watford team of 2021, the Preston side of 2006, and Middlesbrough’s promotion-winning outfit under Aitor Karanka from nearly a decade ago.
Joe Rodon has been Leeds’ ‘standout performer’, according to former Elland Road hitman Michael Bridges. In a season full of thrilling attacking displays, Rodon produced a ‘sensational’ performance at Oxford United in that 1-0 spring-time.
One which ranks very high indeed high amongst the very best individual displays across 2024/25. Pascal Struijk and Ethan Ampadu excelled, too, in injury-interrupted campaigns.
Fortunately, the decision to let Charlie Cresswell pursue a £4 million move to France last summer cannot be framed as a mistake, then, regardless of how impressive the Leeds United academy graduate may have been in his debut season across the Channel.
Former Leeds United man Charlie Cresswell tops Ligue 1 charts
Farke let Cresswell go because he could not guarantee him regular starts at Elland Road. And, while largely excellent in the violet and white of Toulouse, the England Under-21 international would probably still be sitting on the bench waiting for an opportunity back home in West Yorkshire.
Instead, Charlie Cresswell has recovered from a nightmare Ligue 1 start – putting an August own goal behind him – to become a towering presence at the heart of a Toulouse side comfortably clear of the relegation zone.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LeedsLeeds | 45 | 28 | 13 | 4 | 93 | 29 | 64 | 97 |
| 2 |  BurnleyBurnley | 45 | 27 | 16 | 2 | 66 | 15 | 51 | 97 |
| 3 |  Sheff UtdSheffield Utd | 45 | 28 | 7 | 10 | 62 | 35 | 27 | 89 |
| 4 |  SunderlandSunderland | 45 | 21 | 13 | 11 | 58 | 43 | 15 | 76 |
A physically imposing, aerially-dominant, somewhat old-school central defender, Cresswell is a man in the Rodon mould.
Only one inch shorter than Leeds’ so-called ‘Welsh Wall’, the Preston-born 22-year-old even tops the Ligue 1 charts this season when it comes to winning aerial duels.
As the official Ligue 1 website explain, no defender in the division comes close to Cresswell’s tally of 90 aerial duels won. In fact, the only player with more – the rangy Stade Brest striker Ludovic Ajorque – has the added advantage of also being the tallest player in France’s top flight.
Cresswell’s average of 3.3 successes per game, meanwhile, places him ahead of Monaco captain Thilo Kehrer, Nantes’ highly-rated Nathan Zeze and the Paris Saint-Germain trio of Marquinhos, Milan Skriniar and Lucas Beraldo.
Cresswell convinced Elland Road exit was the right decision
Cresswell even got the better of PSG superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia during a narrow 1-0 defeat in February.
No wonder sporting director Damien Comoli – the former Liverpool and Tottenham chief who prides himself upon data-driven additions – says signing Cresswell for Toulouse was a ‘no-brainer’ once they had done their research.
“I have loved every minute of it so far. It has been a challenge but one I feel like I am embracing,” Cresswell smiles, convinced the decision he made last summer was the right one even as Leeds storm into the Premier League in his absence.
“I bet [my leaving Leeds for Toulouse] seemed like a bit of a surprise but, last season, I didn’t play much. I had a lot of thinking time.
“[Playing abroad is great because of] the experience, the exposure. I think playing in a top-five league in Europe is a big deal for youngsters coming through because you get to test yourself against Europe’s best,” adds Cresswell, following in the footsteps of Jude Bellingham, Jadon Sancho, Fikayo Tomori, Conor Gallagher and fellow Ligue 1 regular Angel Gomes of Lille.
“Yeah, without a doubt [Toulouse have made me a better player]. Technically, I feel a lot more comfortable out there. It’s a different kind of football.
“In England, it’s very intense, physical. And I feel like, here, there is more focus on the technical and tactical side of things. So yeah, I am more composed on the ball and [I can now] figure out patterns of play.
“Good for my football brain.”
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