The match kicked off at 12:30 GMT in front of 36,924. Tottenham arrived ninth on 12 points after beating Coventry City, Chelsea and Crystal Palace in their previous three league games, the last two without conceding. Leeds were 12th on 11 and had not won a league game since beating Newcastle United 4-1 on 14 September.
How the match was won
The first half finished goalless. Leeds started in a 3-4-2-1 with James Trafford in goal and Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front; Tottenham lined up 4-3-3, with Antonín Kinsky in goal and Omar Marmoush, Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus in attack. The goal came after Farke's double substitution in the 77th minute: Harry Wilson for Ao Tanaka and Okafor for Lukas Nmecha.
- 79' Leeds United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur: Noah Okafor, for Leeds, with a right-footed shot from the center of the box into the bottom left corner. Sky Sports said he combined with Wilson, a fellow substitute; Opta Analyst described him skipping past Rodrigo Bentancur before finishing past Kinsky.
Okafor was booked a minute later for excessive celebration. According to Opta Analyst, it was Leeds' first goal by a substitute in the Premier League this season and the fastest by any substitute in the competition this term. It was also only Leeds' second Premier League win over Tottenham in their last 14 meetings, after a 3-1 win at Elland Road in May 2021, and the first time Tottenham had failed to score in a league game against Leeds since February 2000.
There's no replacement for this winning feeling in the dressing room, it's great to have it back.
Daniel Farke, Leeds United manager, via leedsunited.com
Turning points
Leeds wanted a penalty in the fourth minute, when Mateus Fernandes leaned into a cross with his arm outstretched, but VAR backed the referee's call, Sky Sports reported. The main talking point came in the 34th minute. Jayden Bogle caught Tel on the Achilles, and referee John Brooks gave a foul but showed no card. After a four-minute VAR check no on-field review was recommended, with the challenge deemed only reckless. Tel could not continue and was replaced by Dominic Solanke in the 43rd minute.
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean said it should have been a red card, Sky Sports reported; a week earlier Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta had been sent off for a similar challenge against Tottenham. Farke said he had not watched it back and that Bogle never fouls out of bad intention. De Zerbi said he had not seen it and had confidence in the referee.
Leeds also lost Gabriel Gudmundsson at half-time; Farke said, as quoted on leedsunited.com, that he had a hamstring problem, and Melvin Bard replaced him. Sky Sports listed two Leeds chances early in the second half: in the 50th minute Solanke blocked a Calvert-Lewin header from a corner and Nico Elvedi missed the rebound, and in the 53rd Tanaka lifted a shot over the bar. Pedro Porro was booked in the 51st minute, a decision De Zerbi called "incredible", and De Zerbi was booked for his frustration over it. Opta Analyst counted five bookings for him since his return to the Premier League in April.
De Zerbi made a triple change in the 65th minute, sending on Conor Gallagher, Dejan Kulusevski and Bentancur for Porro, Marmoush and Mateus Fernandes. Kinsky kept the score level in the 75th minute with a save from Sean Longstaff. After the goal, Sandro Tonali was booked in the 88th minute, and in stoppage time Trafford saved a Jan Paul van Hecke header from an Andy Robertson cross in the first added minute and a Bentancur shot in the fourth. Micky van de Ven (15th minute) and Longstaff (22nd) had been booked in the first half, for five yellow cards to players and no reds.
First half, we played well. In the second half, no, we deserved to lose the game.
Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham Hotspur head coach, via NBC Sports
Leeds vs Tottenham: key stats
| Stat | Leeds United | Tottenham Hotspur |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 39.2% | 60.8% |
| Shots | 16 | 7 |
| Shots on target | 4 | 4 |
| Corners | 6 | 4 |
| Fouls | 11 | 15 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 3 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
| Offsides | 2 | 1 |
| Goalkeeper saves | 4 | 2 |
| Passes (completed) | 310 (246) | 508 (420) |
| Crosses | 29 | 23 |
Tottenham had 60.8% of the ball and completed 420 passes to Leeds' 246, but Leeds had 16 shots to seven. Both sides had four on target; Trafford made four saves and Kinsky two. Leeds sent in 29 crosses to Tottenham's 23 and won six corners to four, while Tottenham committed 15 fouls to Leeds' 11. The expected-goals figures in Opta Analyst's match stats had Leeds on 2.02 from their 16 shots and Tottenham on 0.77 from their seven.
What it means for the table
Leeds move from 12th to eighth before Sunday's matches, on 14 points from 10 games, with three wins, five draws and two defeats. They are level on points with seventh-placed Brentford, two points behind Chelsea in fourth and Everton in fifth, both on 16, and seven points clear of 18th-placed Manchester United. Only Arsenal, with five, and Brighton & Hove Albion, with seven, have conceded fewer goals so far than Leeds' eight, and Leeds are unbeaten in five league games at Elland Road this season, with two wins and three draws.
Tottenham drop from ninth to 10th before Sunday's matches, on 12 points with a goal difference of minus one, level with Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Aston Villa. They are four points off the top four and five clear of the relegation zone.
The rest of matchweek 10 is still to come on Sunday 8 November: Brighton & Hove Albion v Brentford, Crystal Palace v Liverpool, Ipswich Town v Bournemouth, Sunderland v Chelsea and Manchester United v Aston Villa, so both clubs' positions can still change. For how those totals compare with past seasons, see our look at how many points it takes to finish in the top four and how many points it takes to stay up. The full Premier League table updates after every game.
What's next: Leeds at Chelsea, Tottenham host Ipswich
- Leeds United: away at Chelsea, Saturday 21 November 2026, 15:00 GMT.
- Tottenham Hotspur: at home to Ipswich Town, Saturday 21 November 2026, 15:00 GMT.
Both games come after the international break, as Sky Sports and Opta Analyst noted, and Sky Sports reported that De Zerbi will serve a one-game touchline ban against Ipswich. Every kickoff time is on our Premier League fixtures page, and the Premier League simulator plays out the rest of the season from the current table, with any results you choose to enter.
How this report was built: the score, goal, cards, substitutions, lineups, attendance and team stats come from ESPN's match data, and the minutes of the saves from ESPN's match commentary. The table is computed from ESPN full-time results, three points for a win, and does not include the five matchweek 10 games to be played on Sunday 8 November; both clubs' earlier results this season also come from ESPN. Context and quotes come from Sky Sports, Opta Analyst, leedsunited.com and NBC Sports.