Leeds United surprisingly jumped back to the top of the Championship table on Tuesday evening. However, the 1-0 win at Middlesbrough should have been a 3-0 win.
Is Leeds United still in with a chance of automatic promotion? Before the English week, coach Daniel Farke’s team had slipped to the unenviable third place, which would not automatically entitle them to return to the Premier League. Of the last six competitive games, Leeds had only managed to win a single one – most recently there had been three draws in a row.
The away game at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium on Tuesday evening in front of almost 30,000 spectators was therefore not ideal. However, the third-best away team in the Championship celebrated a dream start at the fifth-placed team: as early as the second minute, Solomon made a perfect pass to James, who only had to put his foot out in the center.
Tanaka and Bamford celebrate in vain
A lively game then ensued, with chances at both ends. Middlesbrough were rightly denied a goal. Something that could not be said of Leeds: In the 34th minute, the conspicuous Solomon served Tanaka perfectly at the second post, and the former Düsseldorf player netted. However, the flag went up because the Japanese player was supposedly offside. But the TV pictures showed that this was clearly not the case. However, there is no video evidence in England’s second division.
After the break, the game was played out in suspense. Farke made four changes after the last half hour. Two of his jokers were to make the away block cheer: Gnonto served Bamford, who scored the supposed 2-0. But the flag went up again – and again scorer Bamford had not been offside (76′). Much to the annoyance of Farke.
But in the end, it remained a crucial 1-0 victory for Leeds. The Whites actually overtook Sheffield United (0-1 against Millwall) and Burnley (0-0 at Derby County) and are now surprisingly back at the top of the Championship.
