Remarkable stat sums up Leeds’s Elland Road woes

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Leeds United may currently top the Championship, but there is a real sense of frustration emanating from Elland Road right now.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side should have moved three points clear at the weekend. They boasted a 1-0 lead against Derby County and looked to be in complete control.

Even with Mateusz Klich missing a penalty during the second-half, Leeds fans could not quite work out how the visitors would be able to get themselves back into the game. And yet, there was a sense of inevitability about Derby’s stoppage-time equaliser.

Leeds lost their way in the latter stages. But there is no question that they should have killed off the contest long before Chris Martin put the ball past Kiko Casilla and into the bottom corner.

And there is one statistic that best sums up Leeds’s struggles at home. It is also a statistic that seems scarcely-believable, and yet it is one that Whites fans will not be, at all, surprised by.

Leeds have only scored three times at home so far this season. Only the Championship’s bottom side Huddersfield Town have scored fewer goals at home this term. Only two other sides have scored just three times in front of their own fans.

As shown by Whoscored.com, Huddersfield have had 39 attempts on goal when playing at home. Leeds meanwhile, have had 60. Five sides have had more.

Leeds would have expected life to be much tougher when they play at home. Teams rarely come to Elland Road setting up to go out and win three points, but those same teams are under greater pressure to show more intent when they host the Whites at their own grounds.

Nevertheless, it is alarming that Leeds need 20 shots to score a single goal at home.

And with strikers Patrick Bamford and Eddie Nketiah arguably making very impressive starts to the new season in some many ways, it does not appear to be a problem that Bielsa can simply solve with one particular change.

The early stages of this season suggest that Leeds have the potential to run away with the Championship this season. But there is no doubt that they need to become much more ruthless if they hope to go one step further than last year.