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Attendance: 22,059
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Championship | Gameweek 25
Dec 29, 2019 at 3pm UK
 
Leeds logo

4-5

Bellingham (27'), Jutkiewicz (61', 91'), Bela (83')
FT(HT: 1-2)
Costa (15'), Harrison (21'), Ayling (69'), Dallas (84'), Harding (94' og.)

Leeds beat Birmingham in nine-goal thriller to go top of Championship

Wes Harding fired into his own net in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

Leeds United returned to the top of the Sky Bet Championship and ended their mini-slump with a remarkable 5-4 win against Birmingham City at St Andrew's.

Goals from Helder Costa after 15 minutes and Jack Harrison on 21 appeared to put Leeds in control to end their three-match winless run.

But Jude Bellingham reduced the arrears six minutes later before Lukas Jutkiewicz levelled in the 61st minute.

Luke Ayling restored Leeds's advantage after 69 minutes and set up Stuart Dallas for their fourth goal six minutes from time, sandwiching Jeremie Bela's 83rd-minute header.

Jutkiewicz equalised again in the first minute of time added on, only for Wes Harding's own goal to make it 5-4 four minutes later.

Leeds were without 10-goal top scorer Patrick Bamford after the striker suffered a dead leg in the 1-1 draw against Preston North End on Boxing Day.

In his place, on-loan Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah made his first Championship start.

Marcelo Bielsa's side took the lead when they broke on a Birmingham corner.

Harrison collected a loose ball after Liam Cooper nodded away Gary Gardner's header and surged upfield before threading Costa through to turn Maxime Colin and bury a low, left-foot shot to Connal Trueman's left into the bottom corner.

Six minutes after his sixth assist of the campaign, Harrison made it 2-0 with his fifth goal of the season.

A cross from the right hit Harlee Dean and Ezgjan Alioski, with his back to goal, teed up Harrison for a half volley that took a hefty deflection off Dean to wrongfoot Trueman.

Birmingham gave themselves a lifeline when 16-year-old Bellingham fired home from 15 yards from Colin's cross.

Jutkiewicz had a half chance for an equaliser just before half-time when he seized on a loose ball after Dan Crowley had two shots blocked, but the ball wouldn't come down quick enough and he hooked over the bar.

There was still time for Ayling to steer the ball over at the other end from Kalvin Phillips' corner.

Birmingham equalised with the first meaningful chance of the second half.

Colin's corner was nodded goalwards by Kerim Mrabti at the far post and goalkeeper Kiko Casilla parried as far as Jutkiewicz, who nodded home his seventh goal of the season.

Leeds regained the lead when Ayling cut in from the right and lashed an unstoppable swerving shot into the top corner from the edge of the box.

Birmingham pegged them back again when Bela glanced in Pedersen's free-kick, only for the unmarked Dallas to hook home from Ayling's pass.

Jutkiewicz sent the home fans delirious when he stabbed home Bela's cross from close range to make it 4-4.

But Harding continued the drama when he fired into his own net while under pressure from Ayling's cross.

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Liam Cooper in action for Leeds United on August 10, 2019
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1Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd22155232112148
2Leeds UnitedLeeds22136341152645
3Burnley2212822891944
4Sunderland22127334181643
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn2111462518737
6Middlesbrough22105738281035
7West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom22811326161035
8Watford2110473028234
9Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds229582830-232
10Millwall217772118328
11Swansea CitySwansea227692424027
12Bristol City226972628-227
13Norwich CityNorwich226883734326
14Queens Park RangersQPR2251072328-525
15Luton TownLuton2274112538-1325
16Derby CountyDerby2266102728-124
17Coventry CityCoventry2266102834-624
18Preston North EndPreston2241172229-723
19Stoke CityStoke2257102330-722
20Portsmouth204882535-1020
21Hull City2247112131-1019
22Cardiff CityCardiff2146111934-1518
23Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2146112137-1618
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth2146112245-2318


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