Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s incredible goalscoring streak continued as he found the back of the net in six consecutive Premier League games as Leeds drew 1-1 with Sunderland.
The striker has scored seven goals in his last six games. They continued to insist on being recalled from the England squad, canceling out Simon Adingra’s first-half opener after Granit Xhaka’s perfect pass set the winger up beautifully.
Sunderland came close to surviving an action-packed first half, with Brian Brobbey hitting the crossbar with a header just before half-time as the hosts struggled to catch their breath.
This proved costly as Leeds roared back after the interval.
Calvert-Lewin was in the right place at the right time and equalized with a brilliant end-to-end move that saw all 11 Leeds players touch the ball.
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Dominic Calvert-Lewin scores a great team goal to equalize for Leeds
A frenetic start to the first half gave Leeds the momentum and the Yorkshire side came close to taking the lead when Jayden Bogle’s shot from Okafor was deflected over the post.
Leeds continued to dominate, with Robin Roofs converting Xhaka Bijol’s header and Ao Tanaka firing a shot wide before the visitors launched a flurry of attacks and Ethan Ampadu had the best chance with a powerful header.
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Sunderland take first win against Leeds thanks to Simon Adingra’s brilliant goal
Sunderland suddenly began to threaten down the other flank in the closing stages, with Eliezer Mayenda blocking a shot and Omar Alderete nodding in from a corner kick, but neither team could find a chance.
With one point, Sunderland remain unbeaten at home in the Premier League this season and remain in seventh place, while Leeds extend their unbeaten run to five games and remain in 16th place.
How Rodon’s injury (due to a foul on Adingra!) played a role in Sunderland’s goal
Joe Rodon had an action-packed first half.
The defender was caught by a challenge from Blobby in the opening six minutes, but recovered and continued, only to be caught again by a similar challenge from Adingra late in the second half. Four minutes later, Adingra found the net, but Rodon was unable to get out to catch the winger offside and was sent off the field immediately after the goal.
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Jamie Redknapp and Alan Pardew look back at Sunderland’s opening game and explain why Joe Rodon’s determination to keep playing through injury hindered his team
Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp said: “Rodon is too brave for his own good.
“He got a bad ankle injury (from Blobby) and then Adinra came and grabbed his ankle.
“He’s struggling, he’s a tough kid, he wants to keep playing. Calvert-Lewin asks him if he’s OK.
“But he is too slow to clear the line because he is struggling and limping. He keeps Adinra onside and soon he has to get off.”
“(Daniel) Farke won’t be mad at players who want to stay, but he’s probably thinking, ‘If you had left, we wouldn’t have had this problem.’
Le Bris: We’re still learning.
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris told Sky Sports:
“We made a lot of changes to the team and we got off to a good start. We had a chance to score the second goal and that probably would have changed the course of the game.
“The shape of the team has changed a bit and we struggled to find our standards both defensively and offensively. This is normal as there have been a lot of changes in the team. You can prepare for a match properly, but adapting in real time is not an easy task. I think we will be better in the future, but we needed to go through this experience.”
“It’s important to stress that we played two good games without six players (at AFCON), especially since Ballard wasn’t here and O’Nien was also suspended. So even with eight players we played good football, but the Premier League is difficult because the level is so high. The games are really close and one small detail can change the result. We’re new to this league, but we’re learning and we’ll just keep moving forward.”
Falke: This is another step forward, but it could have been more.
Leeds manager Daniel Farke told Sky Sports:
“I give credit to the players, but to be honest today was a bit of a middle ground as they had a great mentality to come back from behind and a great performance from the 30th minute until the end.
“It was a good point on the road. No other team has done better here. Sunderland are unbeaten at home. I knew during the game and before the game that we were going to win and if you look at the statistics we were dominating the game.”
“I feel like we could have won this game if we had been a little more flexible in the opponent’s box. That’s a good point. We got this point and it’s another step forward, but we could have taken a big step today. That’s why I’m not dancing on the table tonight.”
Purdue: Credit for Falke’s halftime contribution
Former Premier League manager Alan Pardew praised Daniel Farke’s work on Super Sunday as Leeds turned the game around in the second half at the Stadium of Light.
“The manager did a great job at half-time, I thought Sunderland were in control in the first half but their concentration was even better.
“Leeds were brilliant for 20 minutes after half-time, they swarmed Sunderland.
“This goal was a great testament to their performance in the second half, but both managers will be absolutely happy with the game.
“It’s a good day’s work to go to the Stadium of Light and score points.”
The story of the game in terms of statistics…
Calvert-Lewin: Timing comes according to my rhythm.
Sky Sports’ Dominic Calvert-Lewin named Player of the Match after scoring his seventh goal in six Premier League games:
“Once you find a good rhythm and momentum, the timing seems to come with you.
“As a centre-forward, you can do a lot of running without receiving the ball, but a lot of things have to come together to score goals.
“What’s more pleasing is the performance we’ve been working on. We were slow in the first half, but after half-time we were much better.”
Opta Facts: DCL continues to do well…
Calvert-Lewin becomes the 11th English player to score in six or more consecutive Premier League games, and the first since Joe Willock, who scored in seven consecutive games in April-May 2021.
He is also the first Leeds player to achieve this in the top flight since John McCall in the 1959-60 season.
Leeds are currently unbeaten in their last five Premier League games (2 wins, 3 draws) and have picked up more points in this league game (9 games) than in their last 12 games (8 games – 2 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses).
This is the third time Sunderland have avoided losing in any of their opening nine home games in a Premier League season (five wins, four draws), after 2000/01 (12 games) and 2010/11 (9 games).
