Saturday’s 2-2 draw with QPR might have been a decent result for Leeds United in the grand scheme of things, but it still allowed Sheffield United and Burnley to close the gap on Daniel Farke’s side.
Historically and certainly in the last decade, Leeds have really struggled at QPR. Marcelo Bielsa lost three of his five games against the London side, facing them four times in the league and once in the FA Cup.
The image of Bielsa on his haunches in a corridor comes after defeat at Loftus Road and Daniel Farke will have felt the same last season, when automatic promotion hopes were dashed during a 4-0 QPR win.
On Saturday, it looked like a repeat. QPR scored two inside the first 30 minutes, through Koki Saito and Steve Cook and Leeds struggled – before Junior Firpo’s effort deflected in and Jayden Bogle equalised.
How Leeds compare to Marcelo Bielsa’s promotion year in 19-20
Burnley cruised past Swansea later on, on Saturday while Sheffield United beat Sheffield Wednesday in the Steel City derby thanks to Rhian Brewster’s goal. The Blades are now level on points with Farke’s men.
Leeds have a better goal difference, while Burnley are points back. Chris Wilder is expecting a “titanic” battle for a place in the top two after the March break, but how do Leeds compare to the 2019-20 year?
The season in which Bielsa guided Leeds to promotion at the second attempt, winning the Championship title without any fans there to witness the occasion. Leeds have 80 points now, but only had 71 back then.
| Season | Manager | Games Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | GS-GA | Clean sheets | Points |
| 2019-20 | Marcelo Bielsa | 38 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 56-32 | 18 | 71 |
| 2024-25 | Daniel Farke | 38 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 76-25 | 21 | 80 |
What Leeds must do now, that Bielsa’s Leeds did five years ago
It is incredible to think it has been five years since the likes of Luke Ayling, Liam Cooper, Ben White and Pablo Hernandez got Leeds into the Premier League. But Farke will be hoping to replicate their success.
Certainly, in the last eight games. Leeds went on a remarkable run that saw them pick up 22 points from a possible 24 in the remaining eight games, the only blot on a near-perfect record being a draw vs Luton.
It saw Bielsa’s Leeds secure 93 points, miles ahead of the chasing pack. This season, 93 is unlikely to provide such a lead but it might just give one of the three sides a chance of automatic promotion.
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