Kyle Newbould: I watched Leeds United's 1-0 defeat vs Sunderland - here are my 3 key conclusions
Key takeaways from a frustrating night at Elland Road for Leeds United.
Leeds United were beaten 1-0 in front of their own fans for the second time in four days on Tuesday, this time by Sunderland. Habib Diarra squeezed a second-half penalty through Karl Darlow to claim all three points after VAR punished Ethan Ampadu for handball.
Daniel Farke’s side dominated possession against a Sunderland outfit happy to absorb pressure, which they did relatively comfortably throughout. Leeds should have had a penalty when Luke O’Nien pulled Pascal Struijk down by the neck but VAR deemed it insufficient for an on-field review.
Elland Road grew increasingly frustrated as Sunderland employed the dark arts to keep Leeds at bay and pick up just a third away win of the season. Below are the YEP’s key talking points.
Unchanged Leeds United felt predictable
With everyone except Noah Okafor fit for selection, Farke had plenty to choose from but for the third game running, named an unchanged starting-XI. That could be seen as fair enough given recent performances have been solid, but at home to an injury-depleted Sunderland is completely different to facing Aston Villa or Manchester City.
Leeds were far too pedestrian in the opening 45 minutes, allowing Sunderland to comfortably shift from side to side without ever running the risk of being cut open. Having Ilia Gruev alongside Ampadu worked against Nottingham Forest but felt overly risk-averse this time round, with no attacking threat coming from there or anywhere else.
One of Leeds’ biggest strengths in recent months has been their unpredictability but on Tuesday it all felt a bit too predictable, a bit too much like one of those frustrating Championship nights. Willy Gnonto, Dan James and Lukas Nmecha all offered something off the bench - perhaps it’s time to change things up a little.
Whites need to be more street-smart
For the second game running, Leeds fans will be left questioning the point of VAR. Paul Tierney was behind the screen in Stockley Park and saw enough in Ampadu’s ‘deliberate’ handball to recommend referee Stuart Attwell undertake an on-field review - so why didn’t he feel the same about O’Nien’s coming together with Struijk?
As a corner came in early in the first-half, the Sunderland captain had eyes only on Struijk while wrapping both arms around the Leeds defender’s neck and pulling him to the floor. But barring an appeal from the Dutchman, that particular incident passed without much of a fuss.
When the ball went out of play following Ampadu’s handball, Granit Xhaka and several of his teammates ran straight towards the referee and that reaction at least alerted the VAR assistant there was something worth looking into. It might not be the most sportsmanlike conduct but it’s something Leeds need to get better at.
A dismal scrap
At points on Tuesday, brief as they were, a game of football threatened to break out but for large parts it was 90 minutes of niggly fouls and questionable injuries. Sunderland had every right to make it that kind of game, their injury-ravaged squad doing exactly what they needed to take all three points, but Attwell allowed it.
According to Fotmob, there were 34 fouls committed during the game which equated to one roughly every two-and-a-half minutes. In the first 15 minutes of the second half there were nine fouls committed at a point where Attwell seemed to blow for every moment of contact.
Those stoppages, plus others for offsides, injury stoppages, goal-kicks and a couple of VAR checks just made it a horrible game to watch - which was exactly what Sunderland wanted. Unfortunately, Leeds didn’t do anywhere near enough to get the game flowing and that is on them.