They went from 0-0 to 4-3. Somehow, that's not the interesting part.
Newcastle already look like they'd run through a wall for Matthias Jaissle.
Which is convenient, because his football occasionally looks like it requires them to run through several.
The buy-in has been pretty hard to miss.
New manager. Gordon gone. Tonali gone. Bruno gone. Yet three league games in and Newcastle are unbeaten, playing aggressively and seemingly trying to win the ball back about three seconds after losing it.
That last part is worth watching.
When Newcastle lose possession, look at what happens around the ball. Their first instinct isn't to retreat. They swarm towards it and try to win it straight back.
Beat that first wave though, and all those Newcastle shirts that just went hunting have left space somewhere else.
That's where Leeds get interesting.
Farke's first Premier League season back felt like an education. The Leeds that started it wasn't necessarily the Leeds that survived it.
He changed shapes, became more comfortable going direct and, most importantly, learned when something wasn't working.
So don't just watch how Leeds start.
Watch what Farke does if Newcastle make them uncomfortable.
Can Leeds establish themselves through midfield? Do they go around Newcastle's pressure? Over it? Does Farke change the shape altogether?
Because that's probably the part of this game I'm most interested in.
The midfield.
Ampadu, Stach and potentially Tanaka against a Newcastle side that wants to make those central areas horrible to play through.
And underneath all of Newcastle's aggression, I'm particularly interested in Nico González.
I haven't watched enough of him to pretend I've completely made my mind up yet. But I've seen enough to want to.
When Newcastle build from the back, keep an eye on where Nico goes. He can move towards the centre backs looking for the ball or sit just ahead of them, helping Newcastle get started before everything becomes considerably more vertical.
Sometimes it looks harmless.
Then he switches the play and Newcastle are running at you.
There's a reason not to get carried away though.
Newcastle have scored six from only eight shots on target in the league while being outshot 61-32.
Clinical? Absolutely.
Something they can keep doing every week?
Probably not.
Which is why this fixture gets more interesting the longer you look at it.
Both have started well. Neither has shown us enough yet to know exactly what they're going to become.
And apparently these two don't know what they're going to give us either.
Last season they went from 0-0 at Elland Road to 4-3 at St James' Park.
Tried defending gimmick once and immediately retired it.
Maybe Monday becomes the midfield scrap I'm expecting.
Maybe someone beats that first wave and the whole thing opens up.
Or maybe we find out what happens when the wall pushes back.
Leeds 4-1 Newcastle was played on matchday 4 of Premier League 2026/27. Leeds sit 5th in the table, while Newcastle sit 9th.
bookd.
