Leeds took another big step toward remaining in the Premier League with a 3-0 victory, and their opponents Wolves’ relegation to the top of the table is all but confirmed.
Goals from James Justin, Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin gave Leeds their first back-to-back league wins of the season after Monday night’s away win over Manchester United, leaving them nine points behind Daniel Farke’s side and 18th-placed Tottenham.
Spurs can officially relegate Wolves if they beat Brighton live on Sky Sports from 5.30pm, but Rob Edwards’ side are actually just waiting for mathematical confirmation of their relegation, as they are 15 points behind West Ham with five games remaining and 20 points behind the Hammers on goal difference.
After Calvert-Lewin missed a couple of big early chances to put Leeds ahead, Ethan Ampadu was further parried by Wolves goalkeeper Dan Bentley from close range before Justin took the lead in the 18th minute with a superb overhead kick from six yards out.
The Elland Road crowd waited just 86 seconds for another goal before the in-form Okafor converted Brenden Aaronson’s exquisite cross at the back post for his fifth goal in the Premier League.
Wolves presented little threat in the first half, but the best moment came when defender Ladislav Kureishi’s header was blocked by Pascal Strujk and then cleared by Calvert-Lewin.
After the break, the visitors showed more action, with Qureshi’s header forcing a fine save from Karl Darlow, before substitute Rodrigo Gomez fired a shot across the board.
Wolves put the ball in the net, but Adam Armstrong’s superb chipped finish was ruled out for offside, with VAR confirming that Armstrong had just edged past the last defender.
Any remaining tension Leeds had was relieved in stoppage time when Calvert-Lewin converted the penalty he earned after being fouled by Hugo Bueno after receiving a perfectly weighted through ball from substitute Wilfried Gnont.
The victory capped off a big week for Leeds, who have gone a long way towards securing their Premier League status into next season.
They currently sit 15th on 39 points, nine points behind Tottenham with five games remaining, but Leeds are six points ahead of Nottingham Forest, who play games on Sunday and Monday, and seven points behind West Ham.
More to come…
