"One of the worst things" - Lee Sharpe offers Leeds United reasoning for chaotic Portsmouth start | OneFootball

The former Leeds United flyer has spoken on the Whites' opening Championship encounter

Highlights

Ex-Leeds United winger Lee Sharpe has urged Whites supporters not to panic following Saturday afternoon's action-packed 3-3 draw with Portsmouth on the opening day at Elland Road.

As ever in West Yorkshire's vaunted footballing cauldron, expectation was high heading into the affair against Portsmouth, who were crowned as League One champions in the 2023/24 campaign.

An early, high-octane onslaught that Leeds are familiar with conducting at their best saw them race into the ascendancy after just ten minutes when Pascal Strujik converted his spot-kick, with Dan James having been hauled down in the area by Portsmouth's Connor Oglivie. Leeds had already come close to opening the scoring as Ilia Gruev's free-kick smashed against the post minutes before, but Elias Sørensen drew Pompey level midway through the first-half by latching on to an intelligent through ball from Marlon Pack.

A Callum Lang stunner from outside the area minutes before the break saw Leeds head into half-time trailing by two goals to one but following the interval, Willy Gnonto restored parity within an instant as Daniel Farke's side continued to pile on the pressure from there on in.

However, Lang was the coolest man in the ground to send Ilian Meslier the wrong way and place his penalty right after being brought down by Jayden Bogle.

But Leeds eventually clawed back to salvage a point when Brendan Aaronson found space in the box and fired past Will Norris deep into additional time and the USA international midfielder should have really secured all three, but spurned a glorious one-on-one in virtually the game's final kick.

Lee Sharpe's verdict on Leeds United v Portsmouth

There is plenty to be desired after conceding three goals at home to newly-promoted opposition, especially for a team like Leeds who play up massively to a unique home advantage by Championship standards. It was, however, the opening day, where shocks tend to be aplenty and teams operate at different intensities.

Indeed, Whites supporters likely require little reminder of the previous campaign's Elland Road curtain-raiser against Cardiff City, where the Bluebirds raced into a two-goal lead before Liam Cooper and Crysencio Summerville inspired a second-half turnaround for Leeds.

And Sharpe, who made 30 appearances for the club between 1996 and 1999 after joining from fierce rivals Manchester United, believes there to be nothing worth panicking about following Leeds' opening affair, citing the exuberance and energy exerted by freshly-promoted sides in their initial second-tier encounters.

"I don’t think it’s any concern or panic at all," Sharpe exclusively explained to Football League World (via Highest Payout Online Casino).

"One of the worst things to get as a team is to get a newly-promoted team in your first couple of games, because they’re full of beans, full of running and it’s not really a true reflection of how the season is going to go.

"I think it was good that they came from behind in the game, so I think there’s a resilience there, the fact that they have scored three goals is positive enough, and I think they’ll just be glad to get that game out of the way.

"It’s not the team you want to play really in your first game - they’re all very over exuberant and over-keen, so get that out of the way and start again."

Leeds United's 24/25 baptism of fire

Sharpe raises a strong case and is justified in highlighting the scarce reflection of a season's fortunes off the back of one game, although Leeds will feel frustrated at missing out on all three points against Portsmouth with their upcoming fixture list.

Morale is already considerably low following Tuesday evening's shock 3-0 EFL Cup exit at home to Middlesbrough, which has sent shockwaves throughout Leeds while further emphasising some of the shortcomings that were on show against Portsmouth. The Whites capitulated in the second-half where Boro scored all three goals, and rightly so, it has only raised the pressure even further.

Leeds need to get up to speed and fast, heading into an incredibly daunting opening fixture schedule.

It truly is a baptism of fire and while the Portsmouth result in isolation should not be deemed any sort of reflection on the season they may promise to have, there is increased concern following the Middlesbrough match and Leeds will be serious ground to make up if they fail to stand up to the challenges which await them. Saturday afternoon will take Leeds on the road to West Bromwich Albion, who finished in fifth position last term and will have ambitions of replication this time around.

After that will come consecutive Yorkshire derbies against Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City, with the former in particularly appearing poised to have a strong campaign under Danny Röhl.

Then, following the September international break, Burnley will roll into town in what could pan out to be an exhilarating Elland Road contest between two of the promotion favorites before a trip to Cardiff, who have been a bogey team for Leeds in years gone by.

To round off September, Leeds will play host to another team primed for potential promotion contention in Coventry City. Leeds have not beaten the Sky Blues in more than a decade now, and that too promises to test their resolve.

Perhaps, barring Portsmouth themselves, you would be hard-pressed to find any other team across the Championship with a more daunting fixture schedule and Leeds' next six games simply appear crucial, despite the fact they will all come within the first two months of the season, as they cannot afford to potentially be playing catch-up over the hectic winter period and beyond.