Leeds broke their six-game winless run, edging past Spurs thanks to a clinical strike from Noah Okafor twelve minutes from time, just when it looked like both sides had cancelled each other out. Introduced alongside Harry Wilson in the 77th minute, the Swiss forward needed only 97 seconds to settle the contest at Elland Road, finishing after Wilson kept a Melvin Bard long throw alive. The goal ended Tottenham’s three-match winning sequence and lifted Leeds into the top half of the table. A competitive but sterile first half was interrupted by Jayden Bogle’s challenge on Mathys Tel, which caught the Spurs forward on the Achilles. VAR reviewed it at length and took no action; Tel, who later left on crutches, was forced off. Leeds then seized control after the break, dominating territory and shots while Spurs struggled to impose themselves. James Trafford’s late save preserved the clean sheet as Leeds held on.

Daniel Farke focused on the collective response after a difficult injury-hit spell. “There’s no replacement for this winning feeling after such a game in the dressing room. It’s great to have this winning feeling back,” he said. “All the credit and all my compliments go to the boys’ terrific performance against a really in-form Tottenham side. "It was important today to show this unity and commitment… in the second half there was no doubt just one team was pushing. We were relentless.” He praised Okafor’s disciplined recovery from an adductor issue, noting medical advice limited him to a short cameo, and defended Bogle as “my butterfly” and “possibly the softest player in the whole league,” insisting the challenge was never malicious and wishing Tel a quick recovery.

Roberto De Zerbi was unusually frank. “Two different games in the same game,” he said. “In the first half we were alive… In the second half we suffered too much and we deserved to lose the game. We didn’t win any duels… We didn’t show personality, we didn’t show what we are, who we are.” He stressed the need for honesty as part of the club’s journey, describing football as “an exam every day,” and acknowledged surprise at the drop-off in character and physicality despite preparation for Elland Road’s intensity. While noting inconsistent parameters on the Bogle incident and Pedro Porro’s yellow cards, he insisted the result was down to performance: “We deserved to lose.”

	Line Up		Nat	Match Events
	1	Trafford, James Goalkeeper			7.6
	2	Bogle, Jayden Defender			6.4
	3	Gudmundsson, Gabriel Defender			6.3
	5	Muharemović, Tarik Defender			★7.9
	30	Elvedi, Nico Defender			7.7
	24	Justin, James Defender			6.6
	4	Ampadu, Ethan Midfielder			7.3
	8	Longstaff, Sean Midfielder			7.2
	22	Tanaka, Ao Midfielder			7.6
	14	Nmecha, Lukas Forward			6.5
	9	Calvert-Lewin, Dominic Forward			7.3
	Subs		Nat	Match Events
	16	Zetterer, Michael Goalkeeper		Unused Sub
	26	Bard, Melvin Defender			7.5
	15	Bijol, Jaka Defender		Unused Sub
	6	Rodon, Joe Defender			5.3
	44	Gruev, Ilia Midfielder			5.3
	7	James, Daniel Midfielder		Unused Sub
	10	Wilson, Harry Midfielder			6.5
	11	Aaronson, Brenden Midfielder		Unused Sub
	19	Okafor, Noah Midfielder			7.3