Leeds United promotion heroes join in Sunderland celebrations as familiar face enjoys Elland Road return
Leeds United enjoyed another incredible night under the lights at Elland Road.
Much-loved former Leeds United players Liam Cooper and Mateusz Klich joined in with the celebrations on social media following Monday’s dramatic 2-1 win over Sunderland.
Leeds fought back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 on a thrilling night at Elland Road, with three points sending them back to the top of the Championship. Daniel Farke’s side looked set for a first defeat since September courtesy of Wilson Isidor’s first-half opener but an inspired substitution turned the tide with 20 minutes to go.
Farke brought Joe Rothwell and Pascal Struijk off the bench, with the pair twice combining to turn 1-0 into 2-1 in the blink of an eye. Centre-back Struijk headed level from an inswinging Rothwell free-kick before getting on the end of a similarly enticing cross deep into added-time.
It’s just short of one year since last season’s 3-1 victory over Leicester City and the full-time whistle on Monday sparked similar post-match scenes, with the best part of 36,000 Leeds fans staying put inside Elland Road to enjoy the moment. The Kaiser Chiefs’ ‘I Predict A Riot’ blasted through the PA system, with a video of fans singing along shared on the club’s Instagram page.
The 20-second video has been shared by many a Leeds fan since. And while neither Cooper nor Klich are even in the country anymore, both shared the video on their own Instagram as hope grows over the current group’s ability to repeat their 2019/20 success under Marcelo Bielsa.
Cooper is over 1,700 miles away in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, having signed for CSKA Sofia as a free agent over the summer following the expiration of his Leeds contract. And former Whites midfielder Klich is more than 4,000 miles away and five hours behind those who were inside Elland Road, with the Polish international now at MLS outfit Atlanta United.
Another familiar face left Leeds for slightly closer pastures in the summer and Archie Gray was back at Elland Road to see his boyhood club win. The teenager thought he’d scored a first ever senior goal in that 3-1 win over Leicester - which will be one year old on Sunday - and took time away from his Tottenham Hotspur schedule to head north.
Gray came off the bench for Tottenham on Sunday to enjoy a 1-0 win over Manchester United, with the 18-year-old picked out by Sky Sports cameras enjoying the chaos of Elland Road once again last night. And a picture posted on social media by Leeds fan @JamieLee76 showed the £40million summer exit enjoying his former teammate Struijk’s late winner.
Leeds returned to the Championship’s summit with that comeback win over Sunderland, leapfrogging Sheffield United to open up a two-point gap on their second-placed Yorkshire rivals. More importantly, the Whites are now seven clear of Burnley in third.
"Really big [moment in our season]," Struijk told Sky Sports at full-time. "I think it's important from us that we win and get the three points today. It's a big step in the season so far, we want to keep the distance with the ones that are chasing the same thing as us. So, I think it's really important that we got the three points today."