Sean Longstaff took the winning spot-kick and Leeds defeated Birmingham, who had finished 1-1, 4-2 on penalties after extra time, to advance to the last 16 of the FA Cup.
Substitute Patrick Roberts equalized for the Blues in the 89th minute, canceling out Lucas Nmeka’s second-half shot, but Leeds held on in the penalty shootout.
Leeds quartet Joel Pillow, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Brenden Aaronson and Longstaff all scored, Birmingham’s Tommy Doyle’s shot was saved and Roberts’ shot went over the crossbar.
Leeds goalkeeper Lucas Perry saves a penalty in the shootout
After overcoming a turbulent first half, Leeds looked set to take the lead immediately after the restart thanks to Nmeka’s powerful finish, but Roberts’ equalizer in the closing stages forced extra time.
Leeds, who won 3-1 in the previous derby, will aim to advance to the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
The Blues almost took the lead in the 11th minute when Jay Stansfield’s floating drive was deflected off the crossbar by Leeds goalkeeper Lucas Perry’s brilliant fingertips.
The Blues revealed this week that chairman Tom Wagner is recovering from a stroke, with home fans unfurling a giant “Get Well” banner before kick-off and a minute’s applause in the 13th minute in honor of the American owner. Leeds sent their congratulations via a message posted on X on Sunday morning.
Birmingham were swarmed all over Leeds in the opening 20 minutes. Perry kept shots from John Solis and Kai Wagner, and a header from captain Christoph Klerer was blocked.
And Perry made another perfect save on Demarai Gray’s low shot just before the break, denying Birmingham what would have been a deserved lead.
Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu replaced the ineffective Facundo Buonanotte at the interval and the visitors took the lead within four minutes of the restart.
Klarer was beaten by Nmeka on the edge of the area and the striker scored his seventh goal of the season with a superb finish. This was Leeds’ second shot on target.
Lucas Nmeka scores Leeds’ first goal.
Birmingham responded aggressively, forcing a number of corners, with Stansfield firing wide and August Pliske having his shot blocked.
However, Leeds posed a further threat in the second period thanks to Ampadu’s efforts, but Roberts conjured up a second-half equaliser, with a shot from outside the box deflected by James Justin.
Calvert-Lewin, who replaced Nmeka, had a goal-bound shot that went off course and the Blues finished the 90th minute enthusiastically, with Ibrahim Osman’s low shot hitting the post and fellow substitute Hiroya Fujimoto’s follow-up effort blocked.
Osman converted a chance at the far post in the first period of stoppage time, while Piroue, Calvert-Lewin and Ampadu created chances for Leeds in the second period, and the thrilling cup game went from one end to the other until a penalty shootout was decided.
