Leeds United’s 7 Best opening-day games of last 20 years

Getting off to a good start will be paramount, then, and plenty of eyes will be on the Whites as they face off against Cardiff City at Elland Road on Sunday 6th August.

The fixture marks their first in the Championship since the summer of 2020, when the pandemic-delayed campaign came to a close with Leeds crowning their achievement of promotion with a dominant 4-0 thrashing of Charlton Athletic.

A lot has changed since then, not least this summer alone, with an exodus taking place at Elland Road seeing the likes of Rodrigo, Weston McKennie and Tyler Roberts depart.

Meanwhile, others such as Robin Koch, Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen are among those to leave on loan.

It is also a first competitive match for new manager Daniel Farke, who replaces Sam Allardyce in the Leeds dugout after he failed to rescue the West Yorkshire outfit from the drop, with Jesse Marsch and Javi Gracia victims of the chop.

It has been all-change behind the scenes, with new owners on board following Victor Orta’s exit and 49ers Enterprises officially taking over from Andrea Radrizzani.

They have also welcomed Ethan Ampadu and Karl Darlow to the side with their first dips into the transfer market.

Farke will be aiming to emulate the likes of Marcelo Bielsa and Howard Wilkinson by escaping the second tier – and he may look to some of Leeds’ previous opening-match exploits for inspiration ahead of kick-off against the Bluebirds.

With that in mind, Football FanCast has taken a look back at the last 20 years to pick out the best of Leeds’ opening-day games.

7Leeds 1-0 Derby – 2004/05

Leeds started life outside of the Premier League in 2004 in positive fashion, with their Championship curtain-raiser providing a slender victory over then-promotion rivals Derby County.

Unfortunately for Kevin Blackwell’s Whites, it was a disappointing campaign that saw them finish mid-table, as a new-look team – seven players made their debuts – came to terms with playing the second tier.

Neil Sullivan, Michael Duberry and Lucas Radebe were some of the few first-team survivors to take part that day, as Leeds entered a campaign outside of the top flight for the first time since winning the Second Division in 1990 under Wilkinson.

While Derby would go on to make the play-offs, Frazer Richardson’s curling winner gave what turned out to be false hope to the Elland Road faithful, with the Whites’ 14th-place finish their lowest since ending in the same position of the Football League pyramid in 1986.

6Leeds 3-1 Stoke – 2018/19

The West Yorkshire club entered a new era in August 2018 as Marcelo Bielsa began his reign at Elland Road.

A shock replacement for Paul Heckingbottom, the Argentinian’s debut saw Leeds – out of the Premier League for 14 years at the time – kickstart their latest efforts to escape the Championship with a big three points.

Stoke had been relegated from the Premier League the previous year and therefore entered the following campaign as one of the favourites to go up.

However, Gary Rowett’s side became the first victims of Bielsaball as goals from Mateusz Klich, Pablo Hernandez and Liam Cooper sealed a perfect start for the new boss.

Benik Afobe’s penalty threatened a comeback from the Potters which never materialised, as both sides went on to have differing seasons.

Leeds may have suffered more play-off heartbreak at the end of this one, but this was certainly a sign of what was to come under Bielsa.

5Leeds 2-1 Brighton – 2013/14

The opening day brings excitement and intrigue anyway – but especially when you’ve got debutants in the side. Luke Murphy, a £1m signing from Crewe Alexandra, got the nod from the start here and he certainly made the most of it against Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Seagulls took the lead as Leandro Ulloa struck on 13 minutes. Leeds responded perfectly, though, and were level within five minutes as Ross McCormack found a leveller.

That set the stage for a dramatic finale as Murphy introduced himself to the Leeds faithful with a 94th-minute winner. The midfielder broke through on goal and showed incredible composure to send the fans into raptures.

The victory would prove to be another false dawn for Leeds as Brian McDermott failed to become the man to take the Whites up, just a couple of seasons after managing to do so with former club Reading.

4Leeds 2-2 Newcastle – 2003/04

Leeds were surrounded by doubt to kick off the 2003/04 campaign and few knew what the future held. Financial problems were rife at the club, with some of their best players departing for funds.

One of those was Lee Bowyer, who after leaving the club some six months prior, actually made his Newcastle United debut in this game at Elland Road – to a chorus of boos, of course.

The likes of Harry Kewell and Olivier Dacourt had also left since, with there being plenty of changes to the Leeds lineup ahead of what would be their last Premier League campaign for 16 years.

Peter Reid’s side came into this one after dramatically hauling themselves to safety in the previous campaign as their financial troubles started to take hold.

But regardless of that, it was a fantastic game. Alan Shearer put the Magpies in front from the penalty spot, only for Mark Viduka and Alan Smith to have Leeds in front by the hour mark.

Unfortunately, the Premier League’s all-time record goalscorer grabbed a second on 88 minutes to split the points.

The chaotic nature of this one was arguably a warning sign of things to come, as Leeds fans will know all too well.

3Bolton 2-3 Leeds – 2017/18

Can you really ask for more than a five-goal thriller that sees you kick off the season with an away win? Well, how about if it also includes a local youngster scoring twice from midfield?

21-year-old Kalvin Phillips announced himself here, scoring just his third league goal after seven minutes. Bolton Wanderers found an equaliser on 39 but Phillips struck again before the break – doubling his senior goal tally in one game.

Chris Wood had Leeds 3-1 up on half-time, as a second-half Adam Le Fondre penalty wasn’t enough to stop the points going back to Elland Road. Phillips, though, was the real story here – a sign of what was to come from him.

The same can’t be said for Thomas Christiansen’s Leeds, who faded away after a promising start to the league season. The Whites went unbeaten in their first seven following the dramatic win at Bolton, before proceeding to lose eight of their next 11 clashes.

Amid the failures of Christiansen – and then Paul Heckingbottom to steady the ship – they could perhaps be seen as a blessing given that they led to persuading Bielsa to finally take the West Yorkshiremen forward.

2Liverpool 4-3 Leeds – 2020/21

It does feel a bit strange to include a defeat on a list of Leeds’ ‘best’ opening day games, but context is important here. Marcelo Bielsa had led Leeds to promotion in style the previous season, playing a high-risk, exciting brand of football.

And no side was better placed to exploit their potentially cavalier approach that worked so well in the lower division than Liverpool. They’d utterly dominated the Premier League the season prior, essentially eliminating any title race by January. Leeds, surely, would need to change.

Bielsa saw things differently and sent his Leeds side out to take the game to Liverpool. Mohamed Salah put the Reds in front, but Leeds found an equaliser through Jack Harrison.

Virgil van Dijk made it 2-1, but again, Leeds equalised as Patrick Bamford found the net. Salah grabbed another before Leeds hit back once more on 66 minutes through Mateusz Klich.

A Salah penalty – sealing his hat-trick – eventually secured a win for Liverpool, but Leeds sent a real message with this one. Even the champions would struggle to contain them – as many other sides did as the Whites finished ninth – and they were absolutely not interested in changing their ways.

1Bristol City 1-3 Leeds – 2019/20

No, this game wasn’t as dramatic as the Anfield clash, but it came at the start of a historic season. Leeds went to Bristol City with promotion aspirations, having fallen in the Championship play-offs the previous year.

The Robins were no pushovers, either, having clinched 8th that season and harboured play-off ambitions of their own. What followed, then, was a display that firmly placed Leeds as the team to beat in 2019/20.

Pablo Hernandez was at firmly the heart of things, scoring before setting up Patrick Bamford as Leeds looked dominant. Jack Harrison sealed the points before Andreas Weimann’s consolation, as the Whites finally started a successful Championship title tilt.

It was the beginning of a sensational campaign that saw them return to the Premier League after 16 years. Five wins from their first seven set them on their way to the promised land of the top flight – a start good as that this time around will hopefully have a similar result for Daniel Farke and co.