Leeds United’s incredible defensive record is unmatched by any other Championship team in the last 10 seasons

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Leeds United have made a reasonably solid start to the Championship season on the whole and are where they are expected to be, right in the thick of the running for the top two.

Had Manor Solomon not slipped against Burnley, had Leeds taken their chances against Portsmouth and had Illan Meslier not made his mistake against Sunderland, Daniel Farke’s side might be sitting top.

But, Leeds sit in third place after Friday night’s excellent 2-0 win over Sheffield United. A game that saw Joe Rothwell and Pascal Struijk end Leeds’ eight-month wait for a goal from a corner on 69 minutes.

A set-piece routine that Farke said Rothwell had worked on. Mateo Joseph netted late on after coming on as a sub, with Spain striker Joseph boasting the highest XG of the match despite being a sub for Leeds.

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Leeds United picked up sixth clean sheet from 10 league games

It was a stunning win on Friday night, but a big moment for Illan Meslier. While largely untroubled, he will have been delighted to keep a clean sheet after his mistake at Sunderland prior to the October break.

Following the win against Sheffield United, Leeds have faced 72 shots after 10 games and Opta’s stat man and Leeds fan Jonny Cooper told supporters on X that is the best Championship record since 2013-14.

“Leeds have only faced 72 shots in 10 Championship games this season. Since Opta began recording Championship shot data in 2013-14, 7.2 shots faced per game is the lowest ratio by a team in a season.”

Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk stat proving key in Leeds record

One change from last season is that the two holding midfielders in front of the centre-backs are much more solid. Whether that is Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev, or currently Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka.

One element that has changed from last season is the amount of passes between the two centre-backs. Farke has clearly wanted more control in games this season and keeping possession is a big part of that.

Championship’s top-five passers this season:

Keeping the ball and remaining patient in defence between Struijk and Rodon, rarely going long and only misplacing less than a tenth of their overall passes is playing a key role in Leeds preventing opposition.