Try saying that in the 96th minute after six pints of ale. Tongue twisters aside, we have seen a dramatic and potentially decisive eight days in the Championship title race. The second tier is no stranger to drama, excitement and unimaginable twists and this season still has a lot to offer at both ends of the table.
However, the title race is looking a lot clearer now and we certainly have a very strong favourite. As far as the bookies have been concerned, Daniel Farke’s Leeds have been very big favourites to finish top of the pile for some time. However, unlike the Boomtown Rats, Leeds definitely do like Mondays and after consecutive wins in two massive Monday night games, the second-tier title is very much theirs to lose.
Leeds in the Lead
Nobody at the club is likely to say it, of course, but Leeds are now in an excellent position as we approach the run-in. With 12 games to go in the 46-match regular campaign, Farke’s free-scoring side have a healthy lead at the top of the table. And more importantly, their advantage over third-placed Burnley is even bigger. Winning the second-tier title is something that Leeds have done four times in their history, most recently in 2019/20 under club legend Marcelo Bielsa. The fans would love to see them finish top of the pile again. But really all they really care about is finishing the season inside the top two positions and earning automatic promotion back to the Premier League.
The current standings, looking at the top four only, can be seen below. With Sunderland fully 11 points ahead of West Brom, who sit fifth, it seems that it will be two from these four in terms of automatic promotion, with two very strong outfits going to be forced to settle for the play-offs.
| Place | Team | Played | Points | Goal Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds United | 34 | 75 | +50 |
| 2 | Sheffield United | 34 | 70 | +22 |
| 3 | Burnley | 34 | 68 | +34 |
| 4 | Sunderland | 34 | 62 | +19 |
Eight Days Is a Long Time in Football
A week is said to be a long time in politics and eight days is plenty in football – in fact, 60 seconds can be a very long time in terms of the beautiful game! Back on the morning of the 17th of February, the table looked a little different to that, as you can see below:
| Place | Team | Played | Points | Goal Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield United | 33 | 70 | +24 |
| 2 | Leeds United | 32 | 69 | +47 |
| 3 | Burnley | 33 | 65 | +30 |
| 4 | Sunderland | 32 | 62 | +21 |
Leeds still had the title race in their hands at that point but the top four were concertinaed together. Sunderland were far closer to the others, whilst the leaders had a minimal advantage. Looking at the table above, Leeds fans would have been rather concerned because they knew they faced an incredibly testing pair of games, spread over eight days from Monday the 17th of February.
On the 17th they faced Sunderland on home soil, that clash being the game in hand the two held over the other contenders. The Black Cats have often been a bogey team for Leeds, most famously in the 1973 FA Cup final; but more recently they had failed to beat the Mackems in any of their past four meetings.
One week after that clash Leeds were set to face Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, in theory probably their toughest game of the whole season. Back-to-back six-pointers at this stage of the campaign could make or break the promotion push of Farke’s men and fortunately for all Leeds fans, they managed to come out on top in both of these huge games.
That leaves them seven points clear of third-placed Burnley, whilst they are now a mammoth 13 ahead of Sunderland. They have a five-point advantage in terms of the title race and given their goal difference is 16 better than their nearest challenger in that regard, Burnley, you can effectively add a point to all of those leads. A Premier League spot next term is now surely theirs to lose, but it could have been a very different picture were it not for late goals in both of these recent Monday night blockbusters.
Leeds 2-1 Sunderland, Monday 17 February 2025
Leeds have been simply superb on home soil this season and heading into this fixture they had won 13, drawn two and lost just once in front of their own fans. With Sunderland generally deemed to be the weakest of the four clubs battling it out at the top, the home faithful would have been reasonably confident, despite their team’s average record against the Black Cats. The bookies certainly fancied them, with Leeds massive favourites to get another three points at Elland Road.
Farke’s men were not at their best for much of the game but still played the better football. However, a brilliantly taken goal from Wilson Isidor gave the visitors the lead against the run of play after 32 minutes. The first half was fairly equal but in the second period the hosts began to pile on a bit of pressure.
However, try as they might they were struggling to create really clear openings and time was ticking away. However, with just 12 minutes left, substitute Pascal Struijk, on the pitch for less than 10 minutes, got an equaliser which would have been enough to move Leeds back to the top of the table – albeit on goal difference.
However, Struijk wasn’t done and in the 95th minute, he sent the home fans wild by nicking a winner. The assist again came from fellow sub Joe Rothwell as, once again, Farke was able to take advantage of the class he possesses on the bench.
Sheffield United 1-3 Leeds, Monday 24 February 2025
Farke and co had to watch on over the weekend after their win over Sunderland, their game not taking place until the following Monday. They saw Burnley won 4-0 on Friday night before a better result for them on Saturday as Hull won at Sunderland.
They then travelled to Bramall Lane for a Yorkshire derby, a game that many were billing as a title decider, even though Burnley remain very much in the hunt. The hosts started very well and took the lead, deservedly, after 14 minutes. It was an unfortunate own goal from Leeds keeper Illan Meslier, who had enjoyed a torrid start to the clash, fumbling the ball badly and looking very nervy.
Leeds grew into the game and began to take control, though once again they were struggling to create really good chances. They got the breakthrough after 72 minutes, though, as full-back Junior Firpo planted an excellent header past the Blades goalie to level the match. Leeds continued to press an they got their reward after 89 minutes when Ao Tanaka headed home.
Their fans were still celebrating when less than two minutes later Joel Piroe thundered home from 25 yards. For the second Monday in a row, Leeds had left it late but had got the job done. Winning the big games and scoring late goals are both traits that champions tend to have and with their healthy cushion, Leeds are looking every bit champions-elect.