‘Thank God we also took the risk’: Leeds’ doctors allowed their Swiss forward 20 minutes against Spurs, and he needed two

At the start of the week, Leeds United’s doctors told Daniel Farke there was no chance of Noah Okafor facing Tottenham. On Saturday he came off the bench with 13 minutes left, scored within two minutes and gave Leeds a 1-0 win, their first in the Premier League since September.

It was a calculated gamble. Leeds had cleared the Swiss forward for no more than 15 to 20 minutes, and Farke used him for exactly that. Okafor and Harry Wilson went on together in the 77th minute, and two minutes later Wilson’s flick sent his fellow substitute through to hammer the ball past Antonin Kinsky.

The win, in front of 36,924 at Elland Road, ended a run of five league games without a victory, lifted Leeds to eighth and sends them into the international break in far better spirits than they arrived.

Why was Okafor only fit for 20 minutes?

Noah Okafor has been fighting a groin problem for weeks. He was only fit enough for the bench against Sunderland and missed the trip to Bournemouth altogether, which is why our Leeds predicted lineup vs Tottenham had him down as a doubt.

Farke explained after the game that the trouble started when the forward played 70 minutes against Manchester United, a long stint by his standards.

“Since then he was always struggling with adductor problems,” Farke said. “Beginning of the week the doctor said no chance to involve him, but credit to our medical department and Noah, he’s been so disciplined working to be available.”

The medical staff gave the manager a clear limit. “The medical department said you have to make sure you stay disciplined and can’t bring him on longer than 15 or 20 minutes, this is what the muscle can handle,” he said.

“Thank God we also took the risk”

Okafor trained with the squad for the first time on Friday, and with Leeds short of attacking options, Farke decided to bring him anyway.

“We’re missing important players anyway for our offensive game. We decided to take Noah with us because he can always produce a moment of magic,” Farke said. “I’m pleased for him with the finish and Harry his first assist on Premier League level. So they deserve a bit spotlight today. And thank God they delivered today. And thank God we also took the risk with Noah. Important three points for us.”

Okafor admitted he had still been a question mark until the day before the game. “I was warming up. I was feeling the fire in my body so I wanted just to come in and, if I had a chance, try to score for the team,” he said. “I have to say a big thank you to everyone, to the coach, to the coaching staff, everyone, because they pushed me to be at least a little bit part of the team today, because of my small injury last week.”

It was his second goal of the season. He also scored in Leeds’ previous league win, against Newcastle in September.

Leeds 1-0 Tottenham: how the game was won

Farke named a 3-4-2-1: James Trafford in goal, James Justin, Nico Elvedi and Tarik Muharemović at the back, Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson as wing-backs either side of Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka, with Sean Longstaff and Lukas Nmecha behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

The first half was even and short of chances, and its big talking point went Leeds’ way. Bogle caught Mathys Tel with a reckless challenge just after the half-hour, and after a VAR check that lasted more than four minutes, referee John Brooks decided not to send him off. Bogle was not even booked, and Tel had to go off injured, which left Roberto De Zerbi furious on the touchline.

After the break, only one side wanted to win it. Leeds had 13 shots in the second half alone. Dominic Solanke cleared a Calvert-Lewin header off the line from a corner five minutes in, Tanaka fired over from a golden chance, and Kinsky made a superb save to deny Longstaff.

Then came the change. Okafor lashed in the winner with his second touch, and at the final whistle Muharemović sprinted to the South Stand to celebrate with Trafford. It was Leeds’ first win over Tottenham since May 2021, and it ended Spurs’ three-game winning run.

What did Farke say about the performance?

The Leeds boss called it a “terrific performance” against an in-form side, and admitted how much the result meant after a difficult few weeks.

“There’s no replacement for this winning feeling in the dressing room, it’s great to have it back,” Farke said. “For us it has been a difficult period, we’ve been missing key players in the offence in training and games, players like Anton Stach, Noah Okafor, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has not had the easiest spell with injury problems.”

“We reduced them to very little. We were missing a bit in the final third, the finishing pass wasn’t there. But in the second half only one team was pushing.”

He was just as pleased with the way Leeds held on once they were ahead. “We have to dig in of course, they can substitute quality players in and take lots of risk. We showed steel again, another clean sheet,” he said.

Is Gudmundsson fit to face Chelsea?

The one worry from the afternoon is Gabriel Gudmundsson. He came off at half-time with a hamstring problem and summer signing Melvin Bard replaced him at left wing-back.

“Gabi had problems with his hamstring and it was not possible to keep going,” Farke said. “I hope it’s not too bad with Gabi and hope to have him back for Chelsea, but credit to Melvin he also played his part in a very good second half.”

Farke said Bard had just had his best week of training since joining, and that he was “not one moment concerned” about throwing him on. With the international break next, Gudmundsson has a little time to recover before Leeds face Chelsea.

Verdict: Leeds needed this more than anyone

Leeds had lost only two of their first nine league games, but two wins was a poor return, and the problem was obvious. They were not scoring enough, which is why they are already being linked with a striker for January.

That problem has not gone away. Tanaka and Longstaff should both have scored before Okafor did, and Farke said himself that Leeds missed too many chances. But a clean sheet against a Spurs side that had won three in a row, and a second half this one-sided, is a big step forward.

Okafor’s fitness will now be managed carefully over the break. If Leeds can get him, Stach and Calvert-Lewin fit at the same time, the goals should start to come, and eighth place might not be a one-week visit.