THE SHOCK REASON LEEDS WERE DENIED A LAST-MINUTE PENALTY AGAINST MANCHESTER UNITED TODAY
A classic Roses Derby ends 1-1! See how Brenden Aaronson’s strike was canceled out by Matheus Cunha in a frantic Elland Road clash.
Leeds United faced off against their old rivals Manchester United at Elland Road on Sunday lunchtime, and the place was absolutely buzzing. Leeds struck first, sending the home crowd wild in this classic Roses derby, but Manchester United hit back, and after a wild, end-to-end battle, the game finished 1-1.
The first half was pretty even, with both sides carving out chances. Leeds nearly broke through when Dominic Calvert-Lewin flicked a header off an Anton Stach cross, only to see it bounce off the outside of the post. Calvert-Lewin probably should have done better earlier too, blasting over the bar from close in after some slick work from Brenden Aaronson and the energetic Noah Okafor.
Manchester United weren’t just along for the ride. Lucas Perri had to be sharp, pulling off a great save to tip Leny Yoro’s header over the bar. Jaka Bijol was everywhere at the back for Leeds, throwing himself into tackles and making a clever header at a tough angle to keep Benjamin Sesko from getting in on goal.
Just before halftime, Patrick Dorgu fired wide from outside the box after Matheus Cunha set him up. Cunha actually thought he’d scored early on, finishing well from the edge of the area, but the flag went straight up for offside. A few minutes later, he volleyed over from a corner after Perri’s save from Yoro.
No changes at the break, and Leeds came out flying. They pinned United back, with Gabriel Gudmundsson’s long throws causing some chaos, though Calvert-Lewin just couldn’t get on the end of one. Gudmundsson tried his luck soon after, shooting low from a tight angle, but Senne Lammens got down to tip it wide. United broke quickly from that corner, and Manuel Ugarte fired wide at the other end.
The match stayed on a knife edge, but with just over an hour gone, Leeds finally made the breakthrough. Pascal Struijk’s clearance somehow turned into the perfect through ball for Aaronson, who reacted fast, raced past the United defense, and finished coolly to put Leeds in front.
It didn’t last. Three minutes later, United substitute Joshua Zirkzee got involved right away, sliding in Cunha behind Bijol, and Cunha slotted past Perri to level things up.
Leeds didn’t back down. Lammens had to make a big save to keep out Okafor’s overhead kick in a packed box. Then United had a golden chance to take the lead, but Sesko couldn’t steer Zirkzee’s pinpoint cross on target from close range.
As the game wore on, Leeds boss Daniel Farke made changes, bringing on Lukas Nmecha for Okafor and then Willy Gnonto and Ao Tanaka for Ilia Gruev and Sebastiaan Bornauw, and switched to a back four. The goalpost saved Leeds soon after, with Cunha’s first-time shot from a Dorgu pass clipping the outside of the post.
With three minutes to go, Farke threw on Joel Piroe for Aaronson, and Piroe almost made an instant impact, curling a shot just over the bar after a quick break.
Leeds wanted a penalty late on when Gnonto’s cross struck Cunha’s arm, but the referee waved it away, and United cleared their lines. Four frantic minutes of added time followed, both teams desperate for a winner, but the last real chance fell to Anton Stach, who smashed his shot over from the edge of the box. And that was that—an entertaining 1-1 draw that probably left both sides feeling like they could have had more.
Leeds United: Perri; Justin, Bornauw, Bijol, Struijk, Gudmundsson; Gruev, Stach, Aaronson; Okafor, Calvert-Lewin. Subs: Darlow, Byram, Longstaff, Tanaka, Harrison, Gnonto, Chambers, Piroe, Nmecha.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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