Noah Okafor scored the winner 97 seconds after coming on as Leeds beat Tottenham 1-0 at Elland Road, a result that left Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi furious after Jayden Bogle escaped a red card.
De Zerbi stormed down the tunnel at half-time after VAR decided Bogle's challenge on Mathys Tel was not worthy of a sending off. The tackle, in which Bogle stood on the Achilles of the Spurs winger and forced him to limp out of the game, did not even result in a booking for the Leeds defender.
VAR controversy and early pressure
Ten minutes before half-time, VAR took four minutes to review the challenge by Bogle on Tel. De Zerbi could not believe the outcome of the review. Tel had to be replaced after the incident.
Spurs had arrived in Yorkshire high on confidence following three straight wins, a run that had lifted a team which made a poor start to the campaign into the top half of the table, overtaking a Leeds side that had started to struggle after a bright opening. Daniel Farke's men took on Spurs without a win in their last five league outings, but the German also knew his side had the longest unbeaten home run in the Premier League, spanning 23 games and stretching back to March.
Spurs were fortunate not to fall behind inside the opening five minutes. Mateus Fernandes did his best to handle a cross and concede a penalty before VAR bailed him out, while Ao Tanaka blazed a shot just wide. Ethan Ampadu then sliced an effort well wide as Spurs continued to hang on.
Second-half chances and the winner
Having weathered the storm, Spurs threatened themselves when a break from Tel down the left resulted in Omar Marmoush shooting straight at James Trafford. Moments later Mohammed Kudus tested Trafford again, but these were rare moments of quality in a game lacking it.
Bogle then set up a chance for Lukas Nmecha, who headed straight at Antonin Kinsky from close range. A collision between team-mates Ampadu and Tarik Muharemovic summed up the first half.
Things improved after the break. Ampadu had a shot blocked, while Micky van de Ven almost sliced an interception into his own goal. Dominic Solanke blocked a header from Dominic Calvert-Lewin close to his own line as Leeds continued to push for a breakthrough. De Zerbi was booked after objecting to a yellow card shown to Pedro Porro.
A break from Calvert-Lewin saw him tee up Tanaka, who ballooned his effort over the crossbar when he should have scored. Ampadu then had an effort deflected wide, while substitute Conor Gallagher was close to snatching a winner for Spurs at the opposite end.
But with 10 minutes remaining, Okafor burst into the box to beat Kinsky and bring Spurs' recent momentum to a halt.
