Leeds rue VAR as Sunderland pair stand tall, Premier League product questioned | OneFootball

Leeds United’s fine home record took a hit as a VAR-confirmed Ethan Ampadu handball and a scruffy penalty settled a maddening defeat to Sunderland, despite the hosts dominating the ball.

Regis Le Bris arrived with an injury-ravaged squad and left with revenge for last season’s late heartbreak, his side frustrating Leeds throughout a sterile first half and defending with resolve. According to yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk, Sunderland’s attacking threat was minimal but their rearguard delivered exactly what their manager demanded.

Centre-halves Dan Ballard and Omar Alderete were immense, winning four and eight aerial battles respectively, making 27 clearances between them and blocking eight shots. Leeds rarely varied the questions and the answer was almost always no.

For Daniel Farke, the complaints about VAR and scandalous time wasting had merit, yet Leeds did not do enough in possession. Team selection may not have been bold enough and the game cried out for earlier tweaks, with Lukas Nmecha only introduced around the hour.

There was further anger when Pascal Struijk appeared to be held by Luke O’Nien in the box, the strength of the contact debatable, the infringement not. More broadly, too many stoppages and poor officiating left the much-vaunted league serving up a stinker.

Off camera, Ilia Gruev arrowed warm-up finishes past Lucas Perri, before Alex Cairns palmed away a Jayden Bogle drive. Sean Longstaff’s miscue had Ao Tanaka laughing, Noah Okafor greeted fans, Jermaine Beckford joked with a towel, and Willy Gnonto chuckled as O’Nien limped then ran. Post-match, Struijk remonstrated with officials while Farke steered clear after his recent experience with Peter Bankes.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk