Key events
90 min: There will be four additional minutes.
89 min: Wilson steps across Tonali, who swings an arm to bring him down and picks up a booking.
88 min: Meanwhile, Leeds are doing a marvellous job of containing Spurs, who are trying to respond, but can’t get anywhere near their opponents’ box. Leeds’ xG is now exactly 2 to Tottenham’s 0.28.
87 min: No, is the answer to that. Not a single one.
86 min: TNT are interviewing Nmecha as the game goes on, a box popping up and invading the action. Did any football fan ask for this sort of thing?
84 min: Kudus makes way for the 18-year-old Williams-Barnett. When the game restarts, Calvert-Lewin once again tears clear down the right, but doesn’t back himself to shoot, turning around instead and laying off to Okafor. The move breaks down. That’s a couple of big chances butchered by Calvert-Lewin today.
82 min: Spurs haven’t won any of their last 49 matches in which they’ve gone behind. No wonder Roberto De Zerbi looks thoroughly miserable. That goal was no more than Leeds deserved; they’ve been by far the better team in this second half.
80 min: VAR has a look at a possible handball by Wilson, but there was no touch with his arm. The goal stands!
GOAL! Leeds United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Okafor 79)
Bard throws in from the left. Wilson swivels just inside the box, chesting down and teeing up Okafor, who takes a touch infield before lashing a shot across Kinsky and into the bottom left! Lovely move, and what a substitution!
77 min: Kinsky annoys Longstaff again by pawing his corner clear. Then Leeds make a double change, sending on Wilson and Okafor for Tanaka and Nmecha.
76 min: … but Spurs don’t clear their lines particularly well, and Tanaka strides down the left to win another Leeds corner. Longstaff, who must be wondering how he didn’t score, to take.
75 min: Bogle advances down the right and crosses low for Longstaff, who turns and launches a rising shot goalwards from 12 yards. It’s a superb effort, and heading in, but met by the fingertips of Kinsky. What a save! The ball clears the bar, and nothing comes of the corner.
73 min: Kulusevski and Bentancur combine down the right, but at such slow speed that Leeds close down all avenues to their box. Spurs have not created very much this afternoon.
71 min: From the set piece, Bogle shoots. The ball hits Bentancur. Leeds claim a penalty, but that’s hit Bentancur on the chest. No sir!
70 min: Bard loops down the middle. Nmecha tries to loop over Kinsky, who tips onto the bar. But he was offside. Then Calvert-Lewin fails to hit the target. But Kinsky takes his sweet time over the restart, so the referee awards a corner to Leeds!
68 min: Spurs play some possession stuff. They don’t really go anywhere for a while, but suddenly spring into action, Gallagher bringing the ball down on the edge of the Leeds D before pearling a low drive inches wide of the bottom left. Not entirely sure Trafford was getting to that. Spurs fans thought that was in, so are jeered for their cheer not long after.
66 min: … so Spurs make a triple change, replacing the ineffective Marmoush and Fernandes, plus Porro, who is on one-and-a-half yellows, with Kulusevski, Bentancur and Gallagher. Gray will take over from Porro at right-back.
64 min: Leeds have had seven attempts on goal during this second half. Spurs are yet to generate a single one.
63 min: Calvert-Lewin, Bard and Longstaff combine well down the left. The ball’s rolled infield for Ampadu, who shoots from 25 yards. The ball takes a huge deflection to the left, and had it stayed on target, it was a goal, because Kinsky had committed to diving the other way. But it squeaks out for a corner, which Kinsky claims. Leeds are getting closer and closer.
62 min: Van de Ven again over-eggs his dribble out from the back. This time he loses the ball, allowing Nmecha to enter the box from the left and aim a curler towards the top right. It’s not a good effort, and easily blocked.
61 min: Leeds are romping ahead in the xG stakes. It’s 1.11 to 0.22.
60 min: Porro clips Bard, who was advancing down the left, from behind. It should be a yellow. It’s not, though, presumably because it would have been a second yellow for Porro, and you know how referees process that sort of situation. Porro is now in the last-chance saloon. Meanwhile nothing comes of the resulting free kick.
58 min: The pace doesn’t drop, but passes are no longer sticking. All a bit messy for now.
56 min: Van de Ven over-elaborates when dribbling out from the back, and is nearly stripped by Longstaff. Had the Leeds man completed the challenge, he was through on goal. Van de Ven breathes out.
55 min: Tonali, dropping deep, tries to release Kudus down the right but has to settle for a corner. Kudus ambles across to take it. He exchanges passes with Solanke, then Robertson finally crosses long. Leeds deal with it. A bit of a waste.
53 min: Calvert-Lewin romps into space down the inside-right channel, chasing a fine Longstaff pass. He should shoot upon reaching the area, but lays off to Tanaka instead, who leans back and skies over the bar. Huge chance spurned.
52 min: Porro slides in, over the ball, and catches Nmecha on the shin. It’s a yellow. It should be a yellow. But Bogle’s far worse action in the first half should have been that at the very least. Roberto De Zerbi highlights this inherent contradiction, and is also booked for his trouble. Consistency? Good luck in your search for that.
50 min: Bogle crosses from the right. Calvert-Lewin prepares to sidefoot home from six yards, only for Van de Ven to nip in ahead of him, and slice the ball over his own bar and wide left. Then from the corner, hit long by Longstaff, Calvert-Lewin heads goalwards. Solanke blocks on his own line, then Elvedi heads wide left from close range. It should be 1-0.
48 min: Ampadu throws long from the right. Van de Ven clears. Leeds have had no joy with their long-throw weapon so far.
46 min: Bard’s very first act is to whip in a glorious low cross from his position on the left. Calvert-Lewin is on his heels and can’t connect. That was begging to be rammed home.
Leeds get the second half started. They’ve replaced Gudmundsson with Bard.
Half-time postbag. “Both feet are off the ground. That’s Bogle’s entire weight on Tel’s Achilles. That can lead to a serious injury. Bizarre decision” – Martin Perring
“Why do red cards exist if not precisely to protect players?” – John from Norway
“The most insane thing about VAR, and there are so many insane things about it, is that we have to watch replays of a player OBVIOUSLY doing a red-card challenge one thousand times in slow-motion, and it ends with not even a yellow. The chicken-shit nature of it all, the incompetence, all elevated because of technology. I hate it so, so much” – Øivind Idsø
“There’s overthinking it, as you say, but this is like they’ve been given a task to find a reason for not giving that as a red, rocking and rolling desperately, frame-by-frame. The explanation they release for not giving a red should be a corker. Meanwhile, whatever happened to ‘clear and obvious’? VAR is almost single-handedly turning me into a grumpy old man. I’ll be off out now to shout at some pigeons” – Rob Knap
“I’ve supported VAR from the start. It was always going to have teething issues as it was implemented, and it was never going to 100% eliminate mistakes. Subjectivity is still a thing. But, my word, they don’t half make it hard to defend at times. It should be established now, a mature technology with most of the errors ironed out. If anything, though, It’s getting worse. I’m not in the ‘Bin it’ camp yet, but I’m a lot closer than I was at the start of the season” – Matt Dony
“Committees are an extremely useful method for decision making, especially when people have time to deliberate. But perhaps football refereeing isn’t suited to committees” – Kári Tulinius
“That would have been a red card at Elland Road in the 70s” – Gary Naylor
HALF TIME: Leeds United 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Leeds should have had a penalty; they should also have had a man sent off. The players walk down the tunnel. The referee was planning to drive away in his car, but the doors and square wheels have fallen off and there’s all smoke coming out of the radiator.
45 min +5: Ampadu throws long from the left. Van Hecke powers a header miles clear. Ampadu has another go. Van Hecke batters clear again. The xG does not change.
45 min +4: The xG, for what that’s worth, is 0.19 to 0.22. Meanwhile Roberto De Zerbi continues to give the fourth official the what-for. His post-match interview could make for good entertainment.
45 min +2: Fernandes slices a low drive miles off target. After nearly boiling over, this half is now fizzling out, which is probably for the best all round.
45 min: There will be six minutes of additional first-half time, most of which a result of the on-field referee and VAR spending ages failing to make a decision.
44 min: Kudus fizzes a tempting low cross through the Leeds six-yard box from the right. What a ball. But neither Gray nor Solanke respond. Any touch and it was the opening goal.
43 min: Tel limps off. A heavy trudge, he’s in some difficulty. He’s replaced by Solanke.
42 min: Marmoush clips Muharemovic from behind. That should be a booking as well, but the referee has lost control of this with his unwillingness to make any sort of decision whatsoever. Meanwhile Tel goes down, he looks really unhappy.
40 min: Tel is getting dog’s abuse now. He’s also moving very gingerly, having recently had someone stand on his ankle.
39 min: Roberto De Zerbi isn’t happy about that. You can’t blame him. Meanwhile the game restarts, with Bogle, who shouldn’t be on the pitch, crossing for Nmencha, who plants a header straight at Kinsky. Had that gone in, there would have been some wild scenes all right.
38 min: No red card, no serious foul play. That is preposterous enough in itself; that there’s not even a yellow is beyond a joke. The on-field referee should have seen that, at the very least.
37 min: VAR is flapping taking a long time over this. You can overthink these things, you know.
36 min: It’s a really poor challenge, studs landing on Tel’s achilles, the Spurs player’s leg bending. It should be a red card.
35 min: VAR is in fact checking for a red card. The on-field referee, it should be noted, has completely abdicated responsibility.
34 min: Bogle leaves one on Tel, who was in the process of spinning him. It’s a really poor challenge, studs on ankle. A red card wouldn’t be out of the question here; there’s not even a yellow shown.
33 min: A long pass down the left confuses Elvedi into conceding a corner with a misjudged backwards header. One corner leads to another, then Marmoush heads harmlessly wide. To be fair, Trafford has had next to nothing to do as well, if you ignore a couple of long-range shots scuffed straight at him.
