Wolves enjoyed all the late drama last weekend, but the tables turned at Elland Road on Saturday, as a Leeds United penalty four minutes into added time denied Bruno Lage’s men a fourth successive Premier League win.
The old gold had led since the 11th minute, when Hee Chan Hwang turned home impressively with the outside of his foot, after latching onto Raul Jimenez’s effort, and Wolves held firm until injury time, when Nelson Semedo tripped Joe Gelhardt and Rodrigo converted from the spot to ensure the points were shared.
Life on the road has been good for Wolves recently, but they had to be resolute during the opening stages, when a lively Elland Road crowd was up for the task, but a crucial Romain Saiss clearance and an off target glancing Rodrigo header saw the visitors survive a pair of devilish Raphinha corners early on.
Then it was Wolves’ turn to attack, and they did so to deadly effect, taking the lead with their first shot of the contest. Semedo got in down the right and Leeds were in trouble, and once Jimenez forced a ricochet to Hwang, he instinctively guided home with the outside of his right foot.
That was the bright spark of the half in truth, with neither Jose Sa nor Illan Meslier called into real action. Maximilian Kilman headed an Adama Traore cross over at the back post, while Mateusz Klich shot straight down the throat of Sa and Jack Harrison lashed an effort wide at the near post.
Half-time | Leeds 0-1 Wolves
Wolves knew a second would probably kill the game as the second-half arrived, but they couldn’t find an early one, despite a couple of half chances. First, Rayan Ait-Nouri, making his first Premier League start of the season, stung the palms of Meslier, before Jimenez curled a simple effort into the goalkeeper’s hands.
In fairness to Leeds, the second-half mainly belonged to them, but Wolves managed to keep them at bay for the majority of it, with Sa only making one save, a stunning one at that, to tip over a fierce drive by Gelhardt, after Joao Moutinho had given the ball away.
Wolves did have chances sporadically too – substitute Daniel Podence shot straight at Meslier, while Moutinho curled a well-positioned free-kick harmlessly over the bar.
But while last week the late drama belonged to Wolves, this time they were on the receiving end. Once Gelhardt got the wrong side of Semedo, who’d switched to the left, a tangle of legs saw the referee point to the spot and Rodrigo sent Sa the wrong way to earn Leeds a point four minutes into added time.
Full-time | Leeds 1-1 Wolves
Leeds | Meslier, Shackleton, Llorente, Cooper, Struijk, Dallas, Klich (Gelhardt 61), Raphinha (Summerville 53), James, Harrison (Roberts 46), Rodrigo.
Unused subs | Klaesson, Forshaw, Phillips, Hjelde, Cresswell, Drameh.
Wolves | Sa, Semedo, Kilman, Coady, Saiss, Ait-Nouri (Hoever 83), Moutinho (Neves 89), Dendoncker, Traore (Podence 76), Hwang, Jimenez.
Unused subs | Ruddy, Moulden, Cundle, Trincao, Campbell, Silva.
