Leeds United were held to a 1-1 draw by Villarreal Elland Road in their penultimate pre-season friendly on Saturday.
Joel Piroe grabbed a well-taken equaliser in the second half after the visitors had gone ahead through Etta Eyong.
A lively crowd of 35,273 turned out to watch Daniel Farke’s side take on last season’s fifth-placed team in La Liga.
There were encouraging signs from some of the new arrivals, particularly in midfield, but questions remain elsewhere.
Concerns over the striker situation persist, while Jack Harrison’s continued absence only adds to the uncertainty.
AADAM PATEL was at Elland Road for Mail Sport and has noted down five things we learned from Saturday’s friendly.
Joel Piroe (left) scored a second-half equaliser as Leeds United held Villarreal to a 1-1 draw
Flexible Farke shows tactical pragmatism
Daniel Farke has spoken about flexibility when it comes to formations during pre-season.
The early signs are that when Leeds come up against weaker opposition, they will set up in a 4-2-3-1 as they did during most of their Championship games when they enjoyed more of the ball.
But here against Villarreal, who finished fifth in La Liga last season, they set up in a 4-3-3 base formation.
Leeds did the same against Man Utd in their friendly against Stockholm and in Ethan Ampadu, Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff, they began with a solid midfield three against Villarreal.
In particular, the two new signings showed their quality and more than held their own against the Spanish side while Ilia Gruev and Ao Tanaka, who came off the bench, showed why they will have important roles to play this season.
Daniel Farke set up his team in a 4-3-3 formation against a team that finished fifth in La Liga
Harrison saga drags on
Going into this friendly, one of the biggest questions was how the Leeds fans would react to the return of Jack Harrison at Elland Road.
That question was put to bed when Harrison wasn’t named in the squad. He was booed by his own fans in Stockholm.
Harrison twice decided in recent years that he didn’t want to be at Leeds and still has Everton — where he was on loan for the last two seasons — in his Instagram bio.
The situation remains complicated and with a fortnight to go before the season starts, it is hardly ideal for Leeds to have one of their highest earners in a state of limbo.
The failed pursuit of Igor Paixao has only added to the tensions and though Wilfried Gnonto has impressed in pre-season, he is a much better player down the right.
A lively crowd of 35,273 supporters watched Saturday’s pre-season friendly at Elland Road
Striker search grows more urgent
With each passing day, the need for a top-quality striker becomes clearer.
Lukas Nmecha had two good opportunities in the first half but failed to take them and though Joel Piroe showed good instincts to equalise for Leeds, he is unproven at the top level.
With Patrick Bamford and Mateo Joseph out of favour, Leeds simply cannot afford to start the season with just Nmecha, Piroe and Harry Gray as their centre forward options.
They went in with a bid of £26million for Rodrigo Muniz in June that was rejected by Fulham, who value the Brazilian at around £40m.
Muniz is keen to start more games, especially in a World Cup year. Mail Sport understands that Leeds are keeping their options open and have a back up list but in a congested market where top strikers are hard to come by, they need to make a decision imminently.
Striker Lukas Nmecha was unable to score despite having two good chances in front of goal
Darlow impresses but keeper exit looms
It was hardly ideal that Leeds’ new keeper Lucas Perri was ruled out with a niggle but Karl Darlow made two great saves in the first-half to show why he will be an able deputy.
Darlow was replaced by Illan Meslier at half-time, who made a good save but could do nothing to keep out Etta Eyong on the rebound.
With Alex Cairns as the fourth keeper on the books, one keeper is surely on his way out and that looks set to be Meslier but Leeds are yet to receive an offer for the Frenchman.
The other two are classed as homegrown players and certainly more used to the role as a back-up.
As for Meslier, who is 25, it would be an almighty surprise if he plays again at Elland Road this season.
Perri is expected to make his debut next Saturday when Leeds take on AC Milan in their last pre-season friendly in Dublin.
Schmidt struggles in defensive audition
With Jayden Bogle absent, Isaac Schmidt was given the opportunity at right back but this was a performance that highlighted how important Bogle will be for Leeds in the Premier League.
Schmidt struggled against Yeremy Pino, who has played 15 times for Spain and though he did get into some dangerous positions going forward, the 25-year-old lacked the threat that Bogle possesses.
Defensively, he was too easy to get past and Villarreal’s goal came from his side. Schmidt looks set to join Werder Bremen on loan and this was a timely reminder that Leeds could do with another second-choice full back alongside Sam Byram.
In Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson, they have solid starting options but Farke will be aware that any kind of injury or suspension will leave them exposed down the flanks.
