The Michael Zetterer Leeds United debut that had been waiting since the closing days of the summer window finally arrived at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night — and it turned into one of the strangest first appearances an Elland Road goalkeeper has had in years. Zetterer kept a clean sheet for 48 minutes, made one genuinely good save, and then picked the ball out of his net six times as Leeds lost a Carabao Cup tie they had been winning 2-0.
Michael Zetterer Leeds United debut: picked ahead of James Trafford
Daniel Farke made eight changes for the third-round trip to west London, and the biggest of them was in goal. The Yorkshire Evening Post confirmed the 31-year-old had been picked ahead of James Trafford, with the £45m summer signing from Manchester City named among the substitutes.
That was the arrangement the club had in mind when it moved for him. Leeds agreed a deal for the Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper in late August as their new No.2, in a piece of business that ran in tandem with Lucas Perri’s move to Torino. A goalkeeping department that started the summer with Illan Meslier and Karl Darlow — both of whom left, to Arsenal and Manchester United respectively, on free transfers — was rebuilt almost from scratch inside a few weeks. Wednesday was the first time supporters got to see the second half of that rebuild in a Leeds shirt.
One good save, then the flood
For a long stretch it was going well. Zetterer produced a smart near-post stop to deny Jamie Gittens while Leeds were 1-0 up, and by the 48th minute the Whites were two ahead through a Tarik Muharemovic header from a Harry Wilson corner and a Brenden Aaronson finish from Ethan Ampadu’s cross.
Then referee Jarred Gillett gave Chelsea a penalty for a Daniel James challenge, Cole Palmer converted, and the tie disintegrated. Four Chelsea goals arrived inside 12 minutes and the final score was 6-3. In its player ratings, the YEP marked Zetterer a 6, crediting the Gittens save and judging that he “couldn’t do much about the Chelsea goals, maybe Welbeck’s first”. Given the scoreline, that is close to a pass mark. Our full breakdown of the 12-minute collapse is here.
What Farke said when Leeds signed him
Farke was typically guarded about the move while it was still going through. Asked about the club’s interest by BBC Radio Leeds in late August, with reports of a Perri exit gathering, his answer was three words: “Strange things happen.” It was a very Farke way of confirming nothing. A fortnight later his new deputy was starting at Stamford Bridge.
Where it leaves the goalkeeping picture
Nothing about the night should change the pecking order. Trafford remains the Premier League No.1 — the man who kept clean sheets in both trips to Nottingham Forest and has conceded only twice in three league games — and Zetterer arrived to be the cup keeper and the insurance policy. He has now had his 90 minutes, as has loan left-back Melvin Bard, who also made his first Leeds appearance in the same game.
The uncomfortable truth is that six goals is a difficult first line on any goalkeeper’s Leeds record, even one who was largely blameless for most of them. But the defence in front of him was a patchwork, the opposition were a Chelsea side who had made nine changes and still had Palmer and Danny Welbeck to call on, and the Premier League is where Farke’s season is actually being judged. Crystal Palace are next at Elland Road, and Trafford will be back between the posts when they come.
