Leeds came into this London fixture following a 0-0 draw vs Newcastle United before the international break. With five changes to the starting XI, it was always going to be a tough affair at Craven Cottage.
Ethan Ampadu was introduced back into the squad. Karl Darlow was brought back into the team instead of Lucas Perri who was out because of injury and he's set to miss the Wolves game too. It was a Premier League debut for Noah Okafor who signed for Leeds from AC Milan in the summer transfer window. And Dominic Calvert-Lewin was handed his first start in Leeds colours.
😬⚠️ Leeds United defender Gabriel Gudmundsson scored this own goal in the 94th minute to give Fulham the win. pic.twitter.com/Sp8ZhLiIRf
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) September 13, 2025
First half
With the backing of 2700 Leeds fans, the Whites got underway in London. The first chance of the game came when a free header from Calvert-Lewin was held well by Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno, after an inch perfect Brenden Aaronson cross. A lot of the first half was a midfield battle with a lot of misplaced passes and hard tackles going in with Fulham's Sasa Lukic dealing a few of them.
Fulham began to gain comfortability in the game with Muniz becoming a handful for the Leeds defence, he almost gave Fulham the lead, however this wasn't to be thanks to a crucial Joe Rodon intervention. Leeds would have the final chance of the half following a thunderous strike from Sean Longstaff which clipped the crossbar and would've been a goal of the season contender had it gone in.
Second Half
As the second half got underway, both teams were unchanged. Leeds would come flying out the blocks with Brenden Aaronson testing Leno with a low shot which lead to a fantastic reaction save from the Fulham keeper.
Full of confidence, Leeds would continue knocking on the door as Noah Okafor was played through from a sensational Calvert-Lewin back-heel. Okafor was 1v1 against Leno but a quality last ditch Kenny Tete challenge would deny Leeds again. Fulham began to have their share of the ball Harry Wilson being at the front of the action.
Wilson had a free kick from distance in which Darlow had to intervene in the Leeds goal tipping his effort over the bar. A series of subs would be introduced at either side. Emile Smith-Rowe and Adama Traore would come on for Fulham and Jack Harrison and Lukas Nmecha would be subbed on for Leeds.
Rodrigo Muniz almost broke the deadlock at Craven Cottage as his header would prove to be an easy task for Karl Darlow. In the 76th minute, two subs were brought on, one from either side, Brazilian superstar Kevin who Fulham bought from Shakhtar Donetsk had been introduced and Dan James came on for Leeds.
Although in the dying embers, Leeds' Gabriel Gudmundsson's own goal would be what dictated the game. His attempted headed clearance would end up in the top left corner with Karl Darlow unable to get a hand to it.
Skipper and Manager Reaction
A Word from Daniel Farke:
“I feel for the players, of course, because under these circumstances it was an excellent away performance. I am pretty proud of the lads, proud of the performance after not the easiest couple of weeks, with many players struggling with injury. I have no critical words but sometimes you so have to accept that football is a cruel game.''
A word from Ethan Ampadu:
Disappointed, but there is a lot in that performance that we can take as a baseline for the rest of the season with us. Obviously, it's going to hurt, but we have to crack on and get full focus, it's as simple as that. It's the Premier League, home or away, no game is easy, we want to show ourselves in this league, next week is an opportunity to do so. We are going to rally and we are going to keep going.''
Match Overview:
Fulham FC 1-0 Leeds United: Gudmundsson 90+4' OG
Attendance: 27,327 (2700 Away)
Referee: Craig Pawson
Fulham Manager: Marco Silva
Fulham: Leno, Tete, Andersen (C), Bassey, Sessegnon, Lukic, Berge, Wilson, King, Iwobi, Muniz
Leeds Manager: Daniel Farke
Leeds: Darlow, Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson, Longstaff, Ampadu (C), Stach, Okafor, Aaronson, Calvert-Lewin
Fulham Subs: Lecomte, Smith Rowe (King 60'), Traore (Wilson 60'), Kevin (Iwobi 76'), Cairney (Berge 84'), Jimenez (Muniz 84'), Castagne, Diop, Robinson
Leeds Subs: Meslier, Harrison (Okafor 69'), Nmecha (Calvert-Lewin 69'), James (Aaronson 77'), Gnonto (James 89'), Tanaka, Justin, Bijol, Gruev
Yellows:
Sander Berge 79'
Anton Stach 11', Noah Okafor 64'
