Leeds United advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup after a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Birmingham City on Saturday. The Premier League side triumphed 3-2 on penalties at St Andrew's, with goalkeeper Lucas Perri saving from Tommy Doyle and seeing Patrick Roberts blaze his spot-kick over the bar. Sean Longstaff converted the decisive penalty to secure Leeds' place in the next round.
The match had finished 1-1 after extra time, with Birmingham snatching a late equaliser through Roberts in the 89th minute. The home side had been the better team in the first half, forcing Perri into a superb save from Jay Stansfield's left-footed half-volley and seeing Ibrahim Osman hit the post. Leeds, who made six changes to their starting line-up, struggled to create chances and were booed off at half-time.
After the break, Leeds introduced captain Ethan Ampadu and improved dramatically. Within four minutes they took the lead when Lukas Nmecha capitalised on a slip by Christoph Klarer and slotted home inside the near post. Birmingham pressed for an equaliser and finally found it when Roberts' 25-yard shot deflected off James Justin and beat Perri, taking the tie to extra time.
Neither side could find a winner in the additional period, leading to penalties. Perri kept out Doyle's effort, and Roberts blazed over, leaving Longstaff to score the winning spot-kick. Leeds manager Daniel Farke admitted it was 'far from champagne football' but praised his side's resilience. Birmingham counterpart Chris Davies expressed pride and frustration, saying: 'I thought we were deserved winners.'
