Sunderland 0-0 Leeds: Premier League – live reaction

80 min Talbi seizes on a loose touch from Justin (I think), charges into the area and hits a shot that is well blocked by Bijol.

79 min: Sunderland substitution Habib Diarra and Chemsdine Talbi on, Enzo Le Fee and Nilson Angulo off. Angulo produced some really nice touches.

76 min Now Leeds are having a spell of pressure. Roefs spills Tanaka’s shot on the turn and dives at the feet of Calvert-Lewin, who goes flying. O’Nien was lunging towards the ball as well. No penalty, and no intervention from VAR. I’d like to see that again as I think Calvert-Lewin got the first touch; whether he was fouled is another matter.

74 min Stach finds Bogle, whose brilliant low cross is hooked away by Sadiki, facing his own goal in the six-yard box. Okafor was waiting behind him and would probably have scored. That’s such good defending.

72 min Sadiki’s corner is headed behind by Gudmundsson. A really awkward inswinger is cleared to Angulo, whose stinging shot is blocked by one of a posse of Leeds defenders.

68 min Xhaka’s long free-kick is volleyed wide from eight yards by Alderete. A bad miss, though he was offside so it wouldn’t have counted.

67 min Bogle is booked for a clumsy high challenge on Reinildo. The home fans wanted more but it won’t be upgraded by VAR.

66 min: Double substitution for Leeds Anton Stach and Noah Okafor replace Harry Wilson and Brenden Aaronson.

65 min: Sunderland substitution Timur Tuterov comes on for Brian Brobbey, who has run himself into the ground.

62 min: Good save! Trafford flies to his right to push away a deflected shot from the edge of the D. Sunderland are now on top.

60 min Rigg, found by Xhaka, slithers into the area from the right and has a left-foot shot blocked. Leeds break and Bogle’s shot is also blocked.

58 min Sunderland come to life through Angulo, who curls a first-time shot towards the far corner from 22 yards. It bounces up awkwardly and is pushed away by the diving Trafford. Decent save.

57 min Bogle’s cutback is taken off the toes of Tanaka by Le Fee, a disciplined and vital piece of defending.

56 min Wilson’s deep corner from the right is headed towards goal by Muharemovic and held comfortably by Roefs. That’s Leeds’ first shot on target in the game.

55 min Bogle’s cross is deflected towards Aaronson, who tries an overhead kick that is half cleared in the six-yard box. All Leeds at the moment.

54 min Leeds have made a strong start to the second half, as they did the first. That said, if I had a farm, I’d be putting it on a 0-0.

53 min Alderete makes an important interception, sliding in at the near post to cut out Bogle’s low cross.

52 min: Sunderland substitution Omar Alderete replaces Nordi Mukiele, who has apparently gone down the tunnel.

Brian Brobbey may also have a problem – his movement looks a bit laboured.

51 min Gudmundsson runs onto a defensive header from O’Nien and smashes a hopeful shot over the bar with his right foot.

50 min Mukiele wants to continue but may have been advised against it by the physios. There was a brief shot on the TV coverage of what looked like a robust back-and-forth on the touchline.

49 min Mukiele receives treatment and then walks to the touchline looking a bit groggy.

47 min Mukiele lies face down after accidentally taking an arm in the face from his teammate O’Nien. The referee has to stop play for a potential head injury, but the away fans aren’t happy because Leeds had the ball just outside the Sunderland area.

46 min Sunderland begin the second half by deliberately kicking for touch. It works for PSG, so why not.

More half-time reading

Our own Tim de Lisle is excellent as always on the latest crisis at Old Trafford.

Half-time reading

When football’s dignitaries assemble on Monday at the London Palladium for the Ballon d’Or ceremony it will be a far cry from the first awards 70 years ago. That was held in the slightly less glamorous surroundings of Blackpool town hall, where Stanley Matthews was presented with the prize by Gabriel Hanot, the visionary editor of L’Équipe who came up with the idea of crowning the world’s best player every year.

A specially commissioned china plate was also handed over by the town’s mayor before the 41-year-old Matthews, who was famously teetotal, gave a short speech. “He might have had a double carrot juice that day,” says his son, Stanley Matthews Jr, who will attend this year’s awards with his sister, Jean, and her two daughters. “There was no ceremony. ‘Here’s your Ballon d’Or, well done’, sort of thing. But obviously it’s grown over the years, and now it’s a huge event. We’re very excited.”

The switch of venue to England from its usual home in Paris is a mark of respect to the man who became the first active player to receive a knighthood in 1965, a few months before retiring at the age of 50. It also provides an opportunity to recall an astonishing career that began with his local side Stoke in 1932 and made the “Wizard of Dribble” the most famous player on the planet.

“Most teams have one player whose absence makes them worse,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Usually it’s because, like with Enciso at Ipswich, it’s their best player. Without Brobbey, Sunderland are much diminished, but he’s not obviously in a different class. However, with his diligent harrying and intelligent movement, he creates space for his teammates. Even in a poor game he’s a joy to watch.”

His hold-up play reminds me of Mark Hughes at Manchester United. You could throw any old filth at him and he would somehow control it, fight off four defenders and play the right pass.

That was hard work for the fans, never mind the players. A gale-force wind made it tricky to put more than a few passes together. The closest we came to a goal was when Brian Brobbey forced a short backpass and was denied by James Trafford.

45 min There will be one minute of additional wind.

44 min Calvert-Lewin seizes on a poor touch from O’Nien and appears to be fouled. Stuart Attwell disagrees.

Moments later, O’Nien makes an important last-ditch tackle on Calvert-Lewin to redeem a mix-up between him and Reinildo.

40 min Reinilido’s shirt is ripped at the side, so it seems he had a point. As the Sky commentator Seb Hutchinson says, it can’t be much fun playing with a ripped shirt in these conditions.

39 min Reinilido is booked for a foul on Bogle. He argues to no avail that they were both guilty of shirt-pulling.

38 min A ferocious and fair tackle from Hume on Gudmundsson elicits a mighty roar form the home fans.

37 min Loud cheers from the home fans when Trafford – who has been taking his time on the ball, trying to draw a Sunderland player towards him – launches a clearance straight out of play.

It’s been a poor game so far, but the wind is a big reason for that. Either that or I’m full of hot air.

32 min The last five attempts at goal have all been from Sunderland.

31 min Rigg’s snapshot from the edge of the area is blocked. This is a good spell for Sunderland.

30 min Le Fee whacks the resulting free-kick into the wall.

28 min Ampadu is booked for fouling Angulo just outside the area on the Sunderland left.

26 min: Good save by Trafford! Brobbey, who must be utterly miserable to play against, harasses Bijol into a short backpass and then charges after it himself. He gets to the ball first, a fraction ahead of Trafford, and sidefoots a shot that Trafford saves with his legs.

22 min The wind is making it difficult for both teams to find their rhythm or apply any sustained pressure. There is nothing else to say. Nothing.

18 min Mukiele goes down holding his face after being caught by the outstretched arm of Calvert-Lewin. There was nothing in it really – a “careless arm” in the words of VAR.

17 min After a slow start, Sunderland are having a good spell of extended possession. Both teams are trying to turn the opposition defence, a sensible approach given the awkwardness of the wind.

15 min Ampadu’s long throw causes a bit of chaos before the referee gives Sunderland a free-kick.

14 min Mukiele has a pop from 30 yards, hoping the wind might do him a favour. Alas, it’s well off target.

13 min Empathic cheers from the home fans as Harry Wilson limps away after wearing a defensive clearance on his bare flesh. At least they’re not playing with a Mitre Mouldmaster.

11 min Wild is the wind at the Stadium of Light, which is making life awkward for attackers and defenders alike. O’Nien misreads a long ball, which almost allows Calvert-Lewin to burst through on goal. O’Nien recovers well and the danger is cleared.

9 min “Thanks for the Sunderland v Leeds FA Cup final report, which took me way back to the first time I watched a whole game of football on live tv,” writes Justan Kavanagh. “It seemed so vivid and colourful. I also remember my dad’s rather colourful language when Jim Montgomery pulled off his double-save. I even remember the ball being yellow, which seemed very exotic in those dun, brown days of the mid-70s. The other thing I remember about football around 1973 is that Manchester United went down the following year. Which would be unthinkable now… oh, wait!”

8 min Brobbey hits a deflected shot on the turn from the edge of the area, forcing Trafford to dive to his right and smuggle it round the post. The spin made for a slightly awkward save from Trafford, but he got the ball out of harm’s way.

5 min Bogle’s cross evades Aaronson, under pressure from a Sunderland defender at the far post. Leeds have started really well, with their wing-backs heavily involved in the final third.

3 min Bogle shoots well wide from 20 yards after a nice little run infield. Leeds have started positively.

1 min Peep peep! Leeds, in their yellow change strip, kick off from left to right as we watch.

Prokofiev is on the tannoy at the Stadium of Light, which means the teams are about to take the field.

Sunderland (4-2-3-1) Roefs; Hume, Mukiele, O’Nien, Mandava; Xhaka, Sadiki; Angulo, Rigg, Le Fee; Brobbey.

Subs: Ellborg, Methalie, Talbi, Alderete, Diarra, Ahoka, Fofana, Juan Angulo, Tutierov.

Leeds (3-4-2-1) Trafford; Justin, Bijol, Muharemovic; Bogle, Ampadu, Tanaka, Gudmundsson; Wilson, Aaronson; Calvert-Lewin.

Subs: Zetterer, Longstaff, Nmecha, Stach, Okafor, Bahoya, Bard, Gruev, Cresswell.

Referee Stuart Attwell.

Match report: Man Utd 0-3 Bournemouth

After Bruno Fernandes was dropped for “pure football” reasons – according to Michael Carrick – could Manchester United actually win a game of football?

The answer, again, was a resounding, humiliating no, and if the manager’s job remains in real peril, you have to wonder, too, if this beleaguered team should steel itself for a relegation dogfight. They lack imagination, cohesion, fight, confidence, and anything resembling joy and so now hovering a point above the drop zone, survival cannot be taken for granted.

Match report: Liverpool 2-0 Brighton

Brighton’s emphatic run was blown off course at Anfield as Liverpool moved up to fourth with an appetite and urgency at both ends of the pitch that showed Andoni Iraola’s methods taking root. It is Liverpool, convincing winners on home soil for the first time this season in the Premier League, who looked upwardly mobile.

Florian Wirtz was instrumental in an opening goal officially credited to Brighton’s Pascal Gross and Alexander Isak converted his sixth league goal of the campaign to shatter the visitors’ sequence of four successive Premier League wins. Brighton’s winning streak had included 15 goals and none against but there was neither attacking verve nor defensive resilience on show from Fabian Hürzeler’s side. Liverpool had a monopoly on both, and the sight of Bradley Barcola racing back to defend and Ronald Araújo thundering into challenges will have satisified Iraola just as much as the incisiveness up front.

Sunderland v Leeds evokes one game more than any other. You know the one. It’s 1973. Never mind the Sunday roast, who’s ’avin ’oops?

The updated Premier League table

• Crystal Palace 0-2 Newcastle

• Hull 1-1 Brentford

• Liverpool 2-0 Brighton

• Man Utd 0-3 Bournemouth

Daniel Harris has reaction to another dreadful day for Manchester United (and much else besides).

The talismanic Brian Brobbey returns to the Sunderland attack after injury. Leeds are without Nico Elvedi, Anton Stach and Noah Okafor; in come Jaka Bijol, Harry Wilson and Brenden Aaronson.

Sunderland (4-2-3-1) Roefs; Hume, Mukiele, O’Nien, Mandava; Xhaka, Sadiki; N Angulo, Rigg, Le Fee; Brobbey.

Subs: Ellborg, Methalie, Talbi, Alderete, Diarra, Ahoka, Fofana, J Angulo, Tutierov.

Leeds (3-4-2-1) Trafford; Justin, Bijol, Muharemovic; Bogle, Ampadu, Tanaka, Gudmundsson; Wilson, Aaronson; Calvert-Lewin.

Subs: Zetterer, Longstaff, Nmecha, Stach, Okafor, Bahoya, Bard, Gruev, Cresswell.

Referee Stuart Attwell.

• Crystal Palace 0-0 Newcastle

• Hull 1-0 Brentford

• Liverpool 2-0 Brighton

• Man Utd 0-2 Bournemouth

You can follow all the action at Old Trafford and elsewhere with Daniel Harris.

Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Sunderland v Leeds at the Stadium of Light. Last season, these teams breathed new life into the English football pyramid by comfortably avoiding relegation on their return to the Premier League. Leeds have started 2026-27 in a similar vein – but Sunderland, almost unnoticed, have slipped to the bottom of the table after taking four points from the first seven games.

The distraction of the Europa League, in which Sunderland have started superbly, is probably the main reason for that. And three of their seven league games were against the top three, so there’s nothing to worry about yet.

Nor will Sunderland – or Leeds, for that matter – take anything for granted. This is only the third Premier League meeting between the sides since 2002, a reflection of how much these two huge clubs have struggled. English football is a better place when they are in the top flight.

Kick off 4.30pm