Leeds United fell victim to a frustrating 1-0 defeat at Elland Road to Sunderland on Tuesday night.
As with the Manchester City game, the referee stole the headlines, with many controversial decisions criticised.
Jermaine Beckford was furious that Leeds were not awarded a penalty in the first half when Pascal Struijk was grappled to the floor inside the area during a set-piece.
Ex-FIFA referee Keith Hackett also claimed that Sunderland’s goalscorer, Habib Diarra, was also fortunate to not be sent off for a second yellow card after jumping into the crowd to celebrate with the travelling fans after he scored.
Luke O’Nien delivers post-game verdict that will rile up Leeds fans
Just when Leeds fans thought they couldn’t get any more annoyed, Sunderland defender O’Nien gave his verdict on the clash between the two sides.
Speaking in his post-game interview for TNT Sports, O’Nien said, “This is a special game when you come to a place like this.”
“You’ve got two of the best sets of fans in the league going at it for 90 minutes, and that was a proper game of football.”
The frustrated supporters who were in attendance at Elland Road will surely object to the claim that O’Nien made about the game being a “proper game of football”, considering all the time wasting that was going on, even in the first half by the visitors.
This was particularly evident when Sunderland’s shot-stopper, Melker Ellborg, went down with an apparent ‘injury’ that conveniently allowed Sunderland to conduct a team talk during the stoppage in play before Ellborg somehow went on to make a miraculous recovery and was able to continue playing.
Data suggests Leeds deserved at least a point against Sunderland
Although Leeds were not at their best during the game, the data suggests that Daniel Farke’s side were unfortunate not to pick up at least a point.
- Leeds created an xG of 1.15 during the game, compared to Sunderland’s 0.86
- United had zero big chances during the game, whilst Sunderland had one.
- The Whites had 18 shots compared to just three from the visitors, with Karl Darlow not making a single save during the game (Sofascore)
Aside from the penalty, Leeds were able to neutralise Sunderland’s attacks for the majority of the game as they were the side in control, making the fact that they came out of this game empty-handed even more frustrating.
The loss means that Leeds have suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time since November, with the Whites looking to get back to winning ways in their next outing, when they host Norwich in the FA Cup.
