RED CARD MYSTERY: WHAT DID DANIEL FARKE SAY TO THE REFEREE AT FULL-TIME?
Daniel Farke was sent off at full-time as Leeds United fell 1-0 to Man City despite multiple missed chances by Calvert-Lewin.
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Leeds United faced off against Manchester City under the Elland Road lights, hoping to keep their impressive home record alive. The atmosphere was electric, and Leeds started strong. Just four minutes in, they should've been ahead. Jayden Bogle slipped a perfect pass down the right, Brenden Aaronson whipped in a great ball, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin found himself unmarked six yards out. Somehow, he sent his shot wide.
That was only the beginning for Leeds. They kept creating chances. Calvert-Lewin spun past Marc Guehi in the box but fired narrowly wide. Aaronson had another go, poking a shot wide off another Bogle cross. Their best opportunity, aside from Calvert-Lewin’s miss, came when Anton Stach sent Aaronson through one-on-one. The American’s first touch let him down, and Gianluigi Donnarumma scooped up the ball.
City barely got a sniff early on, pressed back by Leeds’ energy. But once they settled, Pep Guardiola’s side found its feet and carved out a couple of decent openings. Filling in for the injured Erling Haaland, Omar Marmoush forced a sharp save out of Karl Darlow with a low shot from the left. Seconds later, Nico O’Reilly wasted a free header, aiming it straight at Darlow.
Pascal Struijk then came up big, cutting out a dangerous Marmoush chance after O’Reilly sliced open the defence. The first half looked set to finish goalless until Rayan Cherki produced a bit of magic in stoppage time. He sliced through the Leeds back line with a gorgeous pass, finding Rayan Ait-Nouri down the left. Ait-Nouri’s cross found Antoine Semenyo, who crashed home from close range. City up 1-0 at the break.
No changes after halftime. Leeds kept pushing. Stach picked out Calvert-Lewin on the left, but Matheus Nunes blocked the shot, forcing a corner. City struck back with a quick chance of their own; Nunes crossed for Marmoush, who flashed his shot wide. Marmoush was in the thick of it again as the hour mark passed, stretching to meet a Ruben Dias cross-shot but sending it well wide.
City started turning the screw. Ait-Nouri smashed a shot just over the top corner, and Semenyo forced a deflection for a corner. From there, Darlow pulled off a brilliant save to deny Marc Guehi’s header.
Farke tried to shake things up. Lukas Nmecha came on for Aaronson, then Dan James and Willy Gnonto entered for Bogle and Gruev. Leeds switched to a back four and threw everything forward. Gnonto got stuck in right away, helping whip in a series of crosses as the crowd roared, desperate for an equaliser.
James swung in a beauty from the left, and late sub Jaka Bijol rose highest, but his header flew wide. That was Leeds’ last real chance. They threw bodies forward in the final minutes, but couldn’t find a way through and felt robbed when a strong penalty shout for handball went ignored.
City managed the final six minutes of stoppage time, hanging onto their narrow lead. Even then, the drama wasn’t over. As soon as the final whistle blew, Daniel Farke stormed onto the pitch to confront referee Peter Bankes. Bankes didn’t hesitate, flashing a red card and sending the Leeds boss off.
SUNDERLAND CONDEMNS "VILE" RACIST ABUSE AIMED AT BRIAN BROBBEY AFTER SPURS WIN
Brian Brobbey targeted online! Sunderland and the Premier League unite against "vile" discrimination after Spurs win.
Sunderland called out the racist abuse aimed at Brian Brobbey on social media and made it clear they stand fully behind him.
Brobbey was targeted online right after Sunderland’s 1-0 win over Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday. On Monday, the club released a statement: “Sunderland condemns in the strongest possible terms the racist abuse directed at Brian Brobbey on social media following Sunday’s fixture against Tottenham. We stand firmly with Brian and offer him our full and unwavering support.”
Sadly, this isn’t the first time Sunderland players have had to deal with this kind of abuse this season. After February’s match against Fulham, Romaine Mundle received hateful messages online, and last month the Tyne-Wear derby had to be paused when someone in the crowd reportedly aimed abuse at Lutsharel Geertruida.
The club’s statement continued: “This isn’t an isolated event. The recent abuse aimed at Romaine Mundle and Lutsharel Geertruida shows just how often and how unacceptably this keeps happening, both at matches and on the internet. We’ve reported this latest incident to the Premier League, the social media platforms, and the police, and we expect them to act quickly against the people responsible. Racism is vile, and it doesn’t belong in football or anywhere else. We’ll keep calling it out, clearly and without hesitation, every time it happens. Football should be safe and welcoming for everyone, no exceptions.”
The Premier League is backing Brobbey as well. In a post on their X account, they said they’re “disgusted by the ongoing discrimination” players keep facing online. “We stand alongside Sunderland in strongly condemning the online racist abuse Brian Brobbey has received and have offered our full support to him and the club. We are disgusted by the ongoing discrimination players are facing on social media and are committed to working with clubs, authorities, law enforcement, and social media companies to address this issue, as well as supporting investigations to bring those responsible to justice.
Anyone found guilty of discrimination will face the toughest possible punishments: jail time, football bans, and even a criminal record.”
DAVID MOYES REVEALS "NERVES" AS EVERTON HUNT HISTORIC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFICATION SPOT
David Moyes admits Everton's Champions League hunt is nerve-wracking. See the latest on the Toffees' battle for Europe.
David Moyes admits the idea of Everton making the Champions League this soon in their rebuild actually makes him “shake a wee bit.”
You look at the club now, and it's hard to believe where they were just 14 months ago. When Moyes returned, Everton looked beaten down from years of fighting to stay up. Suddenly, with only seven games left, they’re sitting eighth. That spot could mean Europa Conference League football, but after their win against Chelsea before the break, they’re now just three points off fourth. It’s wild to even talk about the Champions League, but it’s right there in reach.
Reporters put the question to him how does it feel to be this close? With Europe’s spots possibly extending down to fifth (or maybe even further, depending on how other English clubs do), Moyes wasn’t hiding his nerves: “It’s probably the best shot we’ve had in a long time. But when I hear ‘Champions League’? Makes me shake a wee bit, honestly. I’ve been lucky to manage in Europe’s other competitions lately, and if we do make it, I’m sure we’d be able to hold our own at certain stages. Still, the Champions League is just on another level.”
Everton’s next match at Brentford looks huge for their European dreams. Brentford beat them earlier in the season, and right now, both teams are level, separated only by goal difference.
Moyes is clearly enjoying this chapter. “Listen, Europe’s Europe. If someone had said at the start, ‘You’re going to get European football,’ we’d have snapped their hand off. It could be the tiddlywinks European cup, and we’d be up for it. Evertonians want the club back in those conversations. We’re getting attention for the new stadium, we’ve got a couple of England internationals getting noticed more, it’s a good time. If we do sneak into the Champions League, it’d be an unbelievable achievement. But honestly, no matter which competition we make, it’s still a big step forward for us.”
