Daniel Farke reveals Leeds United team rotation message for win over Millwall

The Whites made harder work of it than they needed to, squandering numerous promising situations and positions but ultimately ran out worthy winners to go back to the top of the table. An own goal in the third minute and Ao Tanaka's fierce strike separated the teams but the gulf in class was obvious throughout the second half.

The win allowed Leeds to leapfrog Sheffield United and open up a four-point lead over third-placed Burnley after the latter two sides were held to draws on Tuesday night.

Delight for Tanaka

"First of all I was happy Ao scores, first time in a while," said Daniel Farke. "Just at 1-0 anything can happen and at 2-0 we more or less buried the game, it was a big relief. An excellent performance. We were quite respectful, we haven't lost many games but when there is a little set-back we've always answered straight away, I love that. The game after a loss is always difficult, you can have 17 games unbeaten but if you lose one it does something with the confidence and rhythm. You have to get the momentum back. Millwall always show resilience and try to go for it. First half it was important we return back to our best defending. We didn't allow them one chance, one half chance perhaps with Cooper from a set-piece."

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Farke wanted Leeds to shake off effects of Portsmouth defeat

Farke sensed in the first half that Leeds had to rid themselves of the lingering after-effects of a defeat on the south coast but by the time they came out for the second half they were in dominant mood.

"We could feel the first half we had to shake off the disappointment from the Portsmouth game and were not that free flowing in our possession but we were all over them in the second," he said. "If you don't bury the game you're aware anything can happen. The lads did excellent and the second goal was a big joy. It was a well-deserved win and I'm especially happy with the clean sheet. The key in the first half was excellent defensive behaviour and to fight our way to create chances but we were not that much in control in possession. We had to gain confidence back. At half-time we spoke about a few changes for positioning in the build-up and the second half we had full dominance."

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Next up QPR

Leeds face a quick turnaround now ahead of an early kick-off away at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, when Farke will be faced with selection decisions in order to keep his side fresh. He revealed that the idea of rotating against Millwall felt counter-intuitive because he wanted everyone to focus on how important Wednesday's game was.

"When the turnaround is that quick it's also difficult," he said. "Many teams opted to rotate a bit more this week. We didn't rotate too much. Three games in six days you're tempted to think about the next step but after a loss I wanted to send the message it just matters what happens today. We opted that the lads who were not perfect should show a reaction today. It was the right decision. Right now the turnaround is a bit more difficult. We need to take some smart decisions and hopefully have a fresh team on the pitch on Saturday."

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