Javi Gracia must address Leeds United's major issue in…

Javi Gracia must address Leeds United's major issue in front of goal made evident in Fulham defeat

On another evening Leeds United could have been out of sight against Fulham at Craven Cottage but it wouldn't have been any time this season. The FA Cup tie was a game indicative of the Whites' campaign to date.

Javi Gracia's side looked much improved in terms of solidity at the back, with two wonder goals from the Cottagers' midfielders Joao Palhinha and Manor Solomon proving the difference. Leeds had 16 shots on goal with six of those coming on target, compared to Fulham's seven shots, with three on target.

Leeds' problems in front of goal were only exasperated by The xG Philosophy on Twitter, who says the Whites posted an expected goals of of 1.53 as opposed to Fulham's lowly 0.19, but it was the home sides who ran out winners. Expected Goals (xG) is the metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal using historical information from thousands of shots with similar characteristics to estimate the likelihood of a goal on a scale between 0 and one.

The balance of the tie could have swung in Leeds' favour had Georginio Rutter's goal not been ruled out for a push on Harry Wilson by Weston McKennie in the build-up.

Speaking to the BBC, Beckford said: "Vast, lots and lots of missed opportunities. Good opportunities as well. You look at Rutter here [for his header off the post], great starting position, he does everything right.

"He heads it back towards the way the ball has come from. He doesn't put too much power on it, just redirects it and is unfortunate it hits the post.

"Really good on the counter attack today Leeds. Two vs one, lovely pass in the middle here, you would expect a little better here from Gnonto, it's on his left foot so you can kind of let him off a little bit.

"Great pace from Summerville, again can he [Rutter] pass the ball out to Gnonto a little bit quicker - possibly not but he manages to get half a yard. Leeds are creating chances all the time they're getting lots of bodies forward into great positions as well.

"I thought I was going to see the net bulge on this instance here - Brenden Aaronson drags the ball a little bit [from the edge of the box], a difficult technique I guess, but you've got to hit the target. That's what we want to see.

"Whether it's blocked on the line, like we're seeing here [McKennie's shot blocked by Ream] or whether the goalkeeper makes a fantastic save, you've got to test the goalkeeper. If you're not testing the goalkeeper you're going to come away with nothing and that's been the story of Leeds' season so far this season."

Javi Gracia must address Leeds United's major issue in front of goal made evident in Fulham defeat

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