WATCH 26/27 EFL Championship, Carabao Cup, & FA Cup in NZ, LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on beIN SPORTS | Sign up here and save up to $60 on our Annual Pass Now | AU | NZ

Leeds returned to the City Ground three days after Anton Stach's late winner handed Daniel Farke's side a 1-0 triumph on the opening day of the Premier League season. 

The likes of Daniel James, Noah Okafor, Ao Tanaka and Lukas Nmecha were handed starts for Leeds, while there was also a debut for summer signing Nico Elvedi in defence. 

Leeds had to wait until the 50th minute to take the lead through James, who collected Sean Longstaff's pass before crashing an effort beyond Matz Sels from inside the area. 

James Justin made sure of the win in the 75th minute when he squeezed the ball over the line after a goalmouth scramble after Ethan Ampadu's long throw.

The result saw Leeds progress to the third round of the Carabao Cup for the first time since the 2022-2023 season, and Rodon highlighted not only the quality within Farke's squad, but also James' display after an injury-hit 2025-2026 campaign. 

"Injuries are a part of the game, we know what he's capable of, he [James] showed his quality and had a great finish," Rodon told ITV Sport. 

"We need everyone, it's a long season, the ability in the squad is unbelievable, we need everyone together.

"We want to change the mentality, grow again as a group and win as many games as we can. The signings have been top, we want to continue with this momentum."