Daniel Farke: 'We would have deserved so much more' - Leeds boss reacts to Bournemouth defeat

Daniel Farke admitted Leeds United were left feeling hard done by after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, insisting his side produced a performance worthy of far more than they ultimately received.

The Whites made an encouraging start against Marco Rose's in-form side, dominating much of the opening half-hour and believing they had taken the lead through Dominic Calvert-Lewin, only for VAR to rule out the striker's effort for handball.

However, despite Leeds looking the more threatening side during the opening stages, Bournemouth capitalised on a costly mistake to take the lead through Evanilson in the 31st minute.

James Trafford's attempted pass was intercepted by Justin Kluivert, who squared for the Brazilian to finish into an unguarded net.

Leeds continued to search for a way back into the contest after the interval but struggled to find the decisive moment in the final third, before Amine Adli added a second in stoppage time to confirm the Cherries' victory.

Reflecting on the result, Farke was disappointed that his side left the south coast empty-handed, particularly given the quality of their opening performance.

"Most important is the result and of course we're disappointed that we travel away without points," the Leeds boss explained.

"Football is brutal sometimes, it can feel like the most unfair sport in the world. One goal is very often decisive. We would have deserved so much more.

"First 30 minutes we played fantastic football, created chances and scored one of the best team goals of the season. Out of nothing they were in the lead because we scored more or less an own goal."

Farke believed the opening goal fundamentally changed the complexion of the contest, allowing Bournemouth to fall into a more defensive structure and exploit opportunities on the counter-attack.

The Cherries arrived having established themselves as one of the Premier League's most difficult sides to break down, and their ability to protect a lead made life increasingly difficult for Leeds.

"They're so well structured and if they're 1-0 up at home and can concentrate on defending and counter attacking it can be very difficult," he continued.

"It was an own goal, we were 1-0 down and this was decisive. They had problems in the beginning to sit with us. After they were 1-0 up they could concentrate on sitting really deep."

The German acknowledged that Leeds could have shown greater quality when attempting to break down Bournemouth's defensive organisation, particularly with their set-piece delivery and decision-making in the final third.

"To open a very good and really well structured Premier League side, one of the best at defending, six clean sheets in a row, perhaps we don't have the individual quality for a moment of magic. Set-piece delivery was perhaps not spot on. We can be better there. We can be a bit more brutal. It's something we will address this week a bit more."

Despite the disappointing scoreline, Farke was reluctant to criticise his players' overall performance, believing the visitors had demonstrated plenty of positive qualities throughout the afternoon.

He admitted Leeds could have been more clinical, made better decisions in key moments and applied greater pressure during the second half, but remained encouraged by the commitment and quality on display.

"I can't speak too negative about anything performance wise. We played a really good away game," he said.

"You can speak about the wrong decision making to concede, you can speak about being more concentrated to hit the target. We could have forced it a bit more in the second half. It's the only thing I could criticise.

"Not moaning about performance or commitment. Overall it was a really good away game. But if you read the result it reads different."

Farke also offered his full backing to Trafford following the goalkeeper's costly involvement in Bournemouth's opening goal.

The summer arrival has enjoyed an encouraging start to life at Elland Road, and the manager was keen to stress that one difficult moment would not change his opinion of the young goalkeeper.

"James is a terrific young goalkeeper, he's been outstanding so far," Farke insisted.

"He has saved us points and will save us points. It's the life of a footballer and a young goalkeeper, there's sometimes perhaps a mistake that can be costly.

"In general we win together, we lose together. For me he's still top class and has all my trust and love. My recommendation is he shouldn't watch the scene back. Football can have annoying days. We won't dwell on it."

While Leeds will be frustrated by the manner of their defeat, Farke's assessment suggests he remains confident in the performances his side are producing.

The challenge now will be turning those encouraging displays into points, with greater ruthlessness in both penalty areas likely to be a key focus ahead of their next Premier League assignment.