adminLeeds United’s 4-1 victory over Newcastle United took our points total to eight after just four matches.
Against Newcastle, the Whites were outstanding, producing another memorable night beneath the lights at Elland Road as we comfortably dispatched yet another opponent.
Jamie Carragher was full of admiration for Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s display during the match. Our striker was extremely unlucky not to finish the evening with two goals. Instead, it appears he will have to make do with one goal and one assist, with his header taking a deflection off Jayden Bogle before finding the net.
However, before kick-off, Carragher made an intriguing admission about Leeds while assessing the team on Monday Night Football.
Jamie Carragher believes Leeds have an outside chance of qualifying for Europe
Before the match began, Sky Sports displayed a Premier League table based on results since December 2025, with Leeds sitting in sixth place. Following our victory over Newcastle, we have now climbed to fifth in that particular table.
That remarkable spell of form has prompted Carragher to concede that United could have an outside opportunity of securing European football this season.
“Yes, I didn’t (think they could qualify for Europe) at the start of the season. I think Brentford was my outside chance to make European football, but I have absolutely loved Leeds since they have come back into the Premier League.
“There was always talk around the manager, maybe they weren’t going to keep him even though he brought them up from the Championship, and he stayed. He’s had that criticism; he’s had other jobs in the Premier League that haven’t gone particularly well for him, but what he’s done here- the physicality in that team now.
Leeds feel like a Premier League team even when Leeds are in the Championship; you feel like they’re in the wrong division. It just feels like they’re a Premier League team; it’s great they’ve stayed up.”
Jamie Carragher outlines what Leeds United’s target should be
After successfully avoiding relegation following our return to the top flight, Carragher believes we should aim to follow the path taken by Newcastle and Aston Villa.
Both clubs returned from the Championship themselves relatively recently and have since secured silverware and European qualification on several occasions.
“You think of the strides Newcastle have made in the last three or four seasons, where they came from. Now and again, they’d go down to the Championship; they came back and invested.
“When you’re talking about what could be happening with the stadium (Elland Road), they should be looking at teams like Aston Villa and Newcastle, thinking that’s our goal. Can we eventually emulate what they’ve done and get European football at our club, maybe get a trophy?
“What Farke and the boys have done since they have been back has been fantastic.”
Europe appears to be a genuine possibility
While I believe we may ultimately fall short of securing European football this season, I still expect us to finish considerably closer to the European places than the relegation zone.
That alone would represent a remarkable accomplishment for a side in only its second campaign back in the Premier League.
The fact that prominent pundits such as Carragher are now even recognising European qualification as a possibility for Leeds this season highlights the excellent work carried out by the 49ers and Daniel Farke at Elland Road.
Not every fixture will be as impressive as the Newcastle performance. However, this Leeds side has given supporters something to dream about once again, and when you give Leeds United fans belief, remarkable things can happen at Elland Road.
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