Leeds United 2 Sunderland 1: Slowly, slowly catchy monkey explodes into dramatic win — Yorkshire Post 17/2/25

By Stuart Rayner

There was something extremely theatrical about Daniel Farke's safety first approach on Monday night.

Like most English football fans, the Leeds public likes to watch a torrent of attacks especially when they are playing sides not as good as theirs - and no one in the Championship can match them for talent.

But their manager, Daniel Farke prefers a drip, drip approach. So often it can leave you wanting more.

But when substitute Pascal Struijk scored his second goal of the game to win it in the sixth added minute, Elland Road was too busy belting out I Predict a Riot for anyone to complain as the home team gathered in the centre circle for a very symbolic huddle led by captain Ethan Ampadu.

A game that had toddled along when some heavy metal stuff would have been more to everyone's taste ended up in a crescendo and a 2-1 win that returned the Whites to top of the table.

Slowly, slowly, catchy monkey had worked in the most dramatic fashion.

Go figure.

Even that common complaint when things are a bit stodgy at Elland Road – slow substitutions – ended up going out the window. It took until the 71st minute for Joe Rothwell and Struijk to come onto the pitch but within five minutes the former had made an equaliser for the latter, than they would combine again at the death.

For all that they had 21 shots at goal, Sunderland beat them 6-4 when it came to those on targets. Not that it mattered a jot in the final reckoning.

Leeds had beaten Sunderland at Elland Road for the first time since both were in the Premier League 23 years ago – both have bobbed up and down the league ladder since, it was enough to retake the Championship lead by 23 goals' difference.

A trip to second-placed Sheffield United is next in the diary.

With Jayden Bogle enjoying himself against Enzo le Fee and Dannis Cirkin down their right, Leeds always looked in command but by the time they had an ineffective shot on target, 43 minutes in, they were trailing.

Manor Solomon cut inside in the 14th minute, only for his shot to deflect wide off the crowd of red-and-white shirts in front of him. Ao Tanaka read the game well to intercept a pass and start a move which ended with Daniel James winning a corner.

When the ball fell to Tanaka in the 23rd minute, the home fans begged him to shoot, sick of seeing intricate footwork not produce efforts at goal. He did, but it was blocked.

Joe Rodon played a great ball down the line to Bogle, whose pass inside to Joel Piroe bounced up for Brenden Aaronson to shoot it over.

The worry was always that Leeds would be made to pay, and so it proved.

Sunderland forced a double save from Illan Meslier in the second minute, the first to stop le Fee after Gruev became the first of a number of players to slip, then getting up quickly to thwart Patrick Roberts.

It would be half an hour before they next had a go, but they made it count, Wilson Isidor showing strength and skill to hold off Ampadu, preferred at centre-back to Struijk, roll him and rattle in a shot off a post. It was weak defending, great attacking.

When Anthony Patterson was called upon it was fairly routine, James' shot down his throat.

The winger had a header in the final added minute of the first half which may or may not have gone wide but was definitely booted clear by Luke O'Nien, who a minute earlier had been making a trademark nuisance of himself as Meslier held onto a Trai Hume shot.

As is often the case when the centre-back is causing trouble, it was someone else booked – Isidor for rutting heads with Rodon in the contretemps that followed.

Leeds cranked up the pressure in the second half, but when Solomon got to the byline well and Gruev whipped in a dangerous free-kick, it was crosses, not shots, Patterson was fielding.

The Whites had two penalty appeals waved away by Stuart Attwell, when Tanaka was wrestled down off the ball and when a cross fizzed in by Aaronson hit Chris Rigg's hand. But it showed they were relying on others rather than forcing the issue.

Efforts by Aaronson and Tanaka missed the target. At least Prioe forced a save.

Gruev's set pieces were poor, and swapping him for Rothwell paid dividends within five minutes.

It looked like Leeds' last chance might have gone when O'Nein cynically brought Mateo Joseph down on the halfway line in the third added minute, and gradually took a booking for it.

When Patterson bundled a Bogle shot behind two minutes later, Largie Ramazani's effort was so bad it turned into a pass for Rothwell to play back in and Struijk to cause delirium.