Leeds ‘flatter to deceive’ as ‘fairytale’ claim made after scenes v Sunderland
Leeds United coming from behind to beat Sunderland 2-1 at Elland Road in the Championship on Monday was nothing short of a fairytale.
At one point on 17 February, it appeared Leeds might slip up in the Championship promotion race as Sunderland took a lead through Wilson Isidor.
However, Pascal Struijk, who replaced Ao Tanaka as a substitute, emerged as the unlikely hero as he scored twice to give the hosts the victory, with the winner coming five minutes into added time.
Daniel Farke’s side, therefore, extended their lead over Sunderland to 10 points and maintained their two-point lead at the top of the table, taking another step towards promotion.
| Club | MP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Leeds United | 33 | 21 | 9 | 3 | 48 | 72 |
| Sheffield United | 33 | 22 | 6 | 5 | 24 | 70 |
| Burnley | 33 | 17 | 14 | 2 | 30 | 65 |
| Sunderland | 33 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 20 | 62 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 33 | 15 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 51 |
| West Brom | 33 | 11 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 48 |
Leeds United v Sunderland didn’t meet expectations, says Sam Parkin
Looking back at the fixture, Sam Parkin said that the quality of the match did not meet expectations, admitting that the encounter was not brilliant by any means.
He also pointed out how Leeds have built a habit of “flattering to deceive” before rallying to get a result in the final minutes of the game.
The former Luton Town forward was wowed by the scenes after the final whistle and insisted that a substitute centre-back scoring both goals made it a “fairytale” for the Elland Road outfit.
“These games get so built up and I didn’t think it was, obviously, a brilliant match because it was one team sitting in, and Leeds, obviously, have got a habit of just flattering to deceive a little bit, looking like they’re running out of ideas”, Parkin said on the Championship Check-in podcast (18 February).
“It looked like it may Peter out to a 1-0 Sunderland or maybe they would get a share of the spoils, they kept knocking long and hard enough on the door, but I don’t think anyone anticipated that type of finish.
“For a neutral watching those scenes at full-time, the jubilation, the faces in the crowd, I don’t think anyone could quite believe the timing of that second one, especially the goalscorer, in essence.
“A centre-half coming on and having such a great effect was just kind of fairytale stuff for Leeds in such a big game.
“Didn’t think it was a brilliant game, but I found the second half quite encaptivating.”
Pascal Struijk, the hero at Elland Road
Struijk has started each of Leeds’ last four Championship games on the bench, with Farke pairing Ethan Ampadu alongside Joe Rodon in defence.
However, Struijk emerged as the unlikely hero against Sunderland as he scored twice despite coming with only 19 minutes left in normal time.
The centre-back’s first goal came just seven minutes after he came on, while the winner found the back of the net five minutes into added time, with Joe Rothwell providing the assist for both.
Struijk will be hopeful that the cameo performance will now earn him a place in Farke’s starting line-up to face promotion rivals Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Monday, 24 February.
A win over the Blades just days after beating Sunderland would boost the West Yorkshire outfit’s promotion chances further.
If that is the case, Leeds would boast a five-point lead over Sheffield United with 12 games left to play.