Leeds United 1-1 Wolves: Last-gasp Rodrigo penalty rescues point

Free match highlights and report as Rodrigo strikes late penalty to earn Leeds draw after Raphinha injury; Wolves were seconds away from winning fourth consecutive Premier League game after Hwang Hee-chan's early strike

Jack Wilkinson

@jacktwilkinson

Saturday 23 October 2021 18:13, UK

Rodrigo's stoppage-time penalty rescued a point for a spirited Leeds United as they eased the pressure on Marcelo Bielsa with a 1-1 draw with Wolves at Elland Road.

Hwang Hee-chan's early strike looked to have fired Wolves to four successive victories in the Premier League for the very first time, but Leeds youngster Joe Gelhardt was the catalyst for the dramatic late comeback.

With talisman Raphinha forced off with an ankle injury, 19-year-old Gelhardt had two attempts on goal before his driving run in stoppage-time drew a rash challenge and penalty from Nelson Semedo.

Rodrigo kept his cool from 12 yards, converting a pressure spot-kick as Leeds salvaged a point from the jaws of defeat to maintain the three-point buffer between themselves and the relegation zone. Wolves, meanwhile, climb to 10th.

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Leeds leave it late to salvage point

Wolves travelled to Elland Road in search of a fourth consecutive top-flight away win for the first time since 1971/72. They had to weather an early Raphinha-inspired onslaught from the hosts but made the perfect start inside nine minutes.

With their first meaningful attack of the game, Semedo skipped over Jack Harrison's lunging tackle and squared for the returning Raul Jimenez, whose blocked shot fell for Hwang to tap into the unguarded net from eight yards.

It was the South Korean's fourth Premier League goal from what was his fourth shot on target in the division and continued his sensational start to life at the Molineux club.

Wolves' chief-tormentor, Raphinha, led the Leeds revival, drawing goalkeeper Jose Sa into his first save of the game with a left-footed drive on 14 minutes.

Daniel James forced another save from Jose Sa and Harrison blazed a shot wide of the near post midway through the half before Raphinha worked himself into another shooting position, only to curl a curl wide of the far post.

Leeds felt as though they should have been awarded a penalty on the stroke of half-time, but Rayan Ait-Nouri was adjudged to have made contact with the ball and not Jamie Shackleton, seconds after the Leeds full-back had nutmegged the Wolves defender and driven into the area.

Leeds' task increased in difficulty when Raphinha had to be replaced by Crysencio Summerville after a robust challenge from Wolves defender Romain Saiss, but the hosts refused to let the injury affect a spirited comeback.

Bielsa introduced Gelhardt just after the hour and Leeds steadily gained momentum. Saiss just got his head to James' cross as it appeared destined to fall for Summerville at the far post before half-time substitute Tyler Roberts sent a glancing header inches wide.

The Elland Road faithful matched the players' efforts on the field, generating a raucous atmosphere as Gelhardt's thunderous drive forced a stunning save from Sa in the Wolves goal.

Gelhardt smashed another opportunity over the bar but would go on to atone for his misses went he was sent crashing to the turf by Semedo. Referee Robert Jones pointed to the spot and Rodrigo confidently dispatched to secure Leeds a point that was earned as much off the pitch as it was on it.

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Rodrigo Moreno's penalty equaliser was just Leeds' third penalty goal scored in the final minute of a Premier League match, after Gary McAllister against Coventry (October 1995) and Ian Harte against Derby (December 1999).
Rodrigo created five chances for Leeds in this match - since their return to the Premier League in 2020, only Raphinha has created more in a single league game for the club (6 vs Wolves in February).
Despite earning a late point, seven points from nine games marks Leeds' worst start to a top-flight campaign since 1981-82 (6 points), a season in which they were relegated to the second tier.
This was Wolves' first draw in the Premier League since May (1-1 vs West Brom), ending a run of 12 league games in which they either won (5) or lost (7).
Wolves faced 18 shots from Leeds - against no side have they faced more in a league game this season (also 18 vs Southampton).

What the managers said…

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Marcelo Bielsa claims the performance from his Leeds side against Wolves was good enough to take all three points, instead they had to settle for a draw with a last minute penalty from Rodrigo.

Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa: "I think we deserved more than the draw. Apart from some things are the start of both halves, we had control of the game even if we could have created more chances.

"But progressively we started to get closer and closer to the goal and to have won the game would have been more in accordance with what happened on the pitch. We hope [this can be a platform for the rest of the season].

"Raphinha received a knock, we do not yet know the gravity or extent of the injury. I always value the decision of the referee and not my criteria."

Wolves head coach Bruno Lage: "We won three points at Aston Villa after time, today was our turn to drop points. This is football. When you look at the game you can accept the result but, at the same time, when you work like we did [it's hard to take].

"We controlled how many chances they could create; we did what we had to do to control the game. What we need to do better is have more time with the ball because we don't have it. Sometimes it's hard to have the ball but I think the boys did a fantastic job because they ran for 90 minutes.

"I think the penalty was very easy to make the decision. It was a very soft decision to take but we were also very soft, he [Gelhardt] went past three or four of our players and entered the box, where little, soft touches can happen. Now we have to move on but when you are leading after 90 minutes you think about taking three points."

What's next?

Leeds travel to Arsenal in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday at 7.45pm - live on Sky Sports Football - before visiting Norwich on Super Sunday at 2pm - live on Sky Sports Premier League. Wolves travel to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday at 3pm.