Gray lights up Leeds late show
DANIEL FARKE says winning the Championship title is not important, so long as Leeds still go up. Clearly his players are not listening. This sensational comefrombehind win before a euphoric Elland Road resurrected the race for top spot.
One moment Leicester were 12 points clear and it seemed a done deal. The next, Leeds were six behind and breathing down their neck. The old place was shaking by the end.
Trailing to Wout Faes’ early header, Leeds should have been dead and buried as Leicester spurned chance after chance. But with 10 minutes left, Connor Roberts drilled home his first goal for Leeds after Georginio Rutter had weaved into Leicester’s box and the ball took a ricochet off Jannik Vestergaard.
The noise had barely abated when Archie Gray, great nephew of Leeds legend Eddie Gray, struck three minutes later. The 17-year- old’s shot took deflections off Hamza Choudhury and Faes to wrongfoot keeper Mads Hermansen. In added time, Dan James drilled in a free-kick to settle it.
This was a ninth consecutive league win for Farke’s team, equalling a club record from 1931.
It was the leaders who settled the quicker, with Ricardo Pereira’s header from James Justin’s cross too easy for Ilian Meslier, before the Leeds keeper pulled off a more demanding fingertip save to deny Patson Daka. Leicester made the breakthrough from the resulting corner. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall delivered short to the near post, where Daka ran off marker Glen Kamara and flung himself at the ball to get the flick on. Leeds had not picked up Faes at the back post and the Belgian stooped to head home.
Leeds could have been level by the break. Wilfried Gnonto surged into Leicester’s box but took a heavy touch rather than shooting, before Vestergaard made a superb last-ditch tackle to thwart Crysencio Summerville.
Farke’s side needed to find a higher gear after half-time but Leicester were still playing the more attractive football and Meslier saved one-handed to deny Stephy Mavididi.
From a corner, Vestergaard headed against the crossbar as Leeds switched off again before Daka put the ball in the net from an offside position.
The Leicester man was livid and replays showed the ball dropped to him off Leeds man Rutter rather than a team-mate, making him onside.
Leicester continued to press and Mavididi’s pace took him clear again from Dewsbury-Hall’s perfect pass, but he fluffed the golden one-on-one chance.
Daka then missed an even better one, shooting embarrassingly wide.
How those misses would prove costly in the end.