Leeds United fell to their second 1-0 home defeat in four days at the hands of Sunderland on Tuesday night. Habib Diarra’s second-half penalty proved the decider on another frustrating evening for Daniel Farke’s side.
Leeds enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the first-half but made very little of it, with Sunderland happy to soak up pressure and their hosts causing few problems. Joe Rodon headed home Anton Stach’s whipped free-kick midway through the second-half but after a VAR review, it was ruled out for offside.
Minutes later, VAR again intervened to award Sunderland a penalty for an Ethan Ampadu handball which Diarra just about squeezed beyond Karl Darlow. Farke threw on every attacker available to him but despite growing late pressure, Leeds failed to find the breakthrough and were left frustrated for a second home game running.
YEP chief football writer Graham Smyth was at Elland Road to watch the action. Here are his Leeds United player ratings...
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13. Sub: Wilfried Gnonto
7 - Gave Leeds something different, caused problems. | Getty Images
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14. Sub: Daniel James
5 - Got on the ball plenty of times but decision making and quality wasn't there. | Getty Images
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15. Sub: Joel Piroe
5 - A couple of nice touches but in pretty safe areas. One awful volley attempt. | Getty Images
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16. Sub: Jaka Bijol
6 - Missed a good chance just after coming on. Won a couple of headers in the box. | Getty Images
17. Referee: Stuart Attwell
4 - Seemed powerless to prevent some of the dark arts. Missed a penalty for Leeds, but so did VAR. Fell for some theatrics, caught on to some others. | AFP via Getty Images