Leeds went into the game on the back of a 1-0 win against Derby County in their last outing which had then in 1st place of the Championship table going into 2025.
But their game against Blackburn didn’t go entirely to plan.
At times though, John Eustace looked as frustrated as the Elland Road crowd, who watched on through a rather painful 90 minutes of football against Blackburn Rovers on New Year’s Day.
Leeds were held back by a stubborn Blackburn Rovers until side a Pascal Struijk penalty in the 88th minute broke the deadlock. But Danny Batth would equalise just two minutes later for the away side.
Then speaking after Blackburn’s 1-1 draw against Leeds United, Rovers boss Eustace made his feelings known about the penalty awarded to Leeds late on, which he thinks was very soft.
Oliver Langford was the man in the middle for the game between Leeds United and Blackburn Rovers.
And as often is the case, it was the referee at the centre of debate. Leeds substitute Mateo Joseph was brought down inside the box for Leeds’ penalty which Struijk converted, though Eustace thinks his side wouldn’t have been awarded the same penalty.
Speaking after the game, Eustace told BBC reporter Adam Pope: “To come away with a draw from the best team in the league is very good.
“We limited them to very few chances bar Pears’ save at the end. It was a soft penalty. We wouldn’t have got it at the other end. We deserved the equaliser.”
Fans at Elland Road and at home too saw home angry Eustace was getting on the sidelines, and now we know that it’s because he strongly disagreed with the penalty that Leeds were awarded.
Soon after full-time, Pope revealed why Eustace almost got sent off vs Leeds. He wrote: “John Eustace is winding up the Leeds fans and he has been warned by the fourth official he will be sent-off if he carries on. The game has got away from the referee a bit here.”
In the end, neither team deserved the win. Leeds dominated possession but Blackburn stuck to their game plan, which in the end worked very well against Leeds.
Leeds and Farke need to find a more effective way of breaking down these deep-lying, stubborn Championship sides, or risk falling out of the top two before May.
