Okafor scored 97 seconds after coming on, and Leeds have ended Tottenham’s three-game winning run
Leeds United beat Tottenham 1-0 at Elland Road on Saturday through a 79th-minute goal from substitute Noah Okafor. Spurs were left angry after VAR let Jayden Bogle stay on for a first-half challenge that forced Mathys Tel off.
Nov 7, 2026
Daniel Farke made a double change with 13 minutes left at Elland Road, sending on Harry Wilson and Noah Okafor. Ninety-seven seconds later, Okafor had scored the winner. Wilson set it up inside the box, Okafor beat Antonín Kinský, and Leeds had their first Premier League win in six games.
It also ended Tottenham’s run of three straight league wins under Roberto De Zerbi. Spurs left Yorkshire with a grievance as well as a defeat.
The challenge VAR let stand
The flashpoint came in the 34th minute. Jayden Bogle went into a tackle on Mathys Tel and caught the Spurs forward on the Achilles. The on-field decision was no red card, and VAR spent around four minutes on it before letting that stand. Tel tried to play on but went off before half-time, and Dominic Solanke came on for him.
The Premier League’s Match Centre gave the VAR’s reasoning afterwards: “There’s a lack of speed going into the challenge and he’s stepping into the tackle.” Not everyone bought it. Mike Dean, the former referee, said it was “100 per cent a red”. Slow but reckless is a thin line to hang a decision on, and Tel limping off a few minutes later did nothing for the case.
Leeds had their own complaint early on. In the fourth minute the ball hit Mateus Fernandes on the arm in the Spurs box, and VAR ruled that it had struck the very top of the arm, so no penalty.
Leeds pushed, Spurs nearly stole it
After the break it was mostly Leeds. Solanke blocked a Dominic Calvert-Lewin header and Ao Tanaka went close. Kinský then had to make a good save from Sean Longstaff, four minutes before the goal.
Spurs still had one chance to take a point. In stoppage time Jan Paul van Hecke won a header in the box, and James Trafford saved it.
Where it leaves both sides
The win was only Leeds’ third in the league this season, but it takes them to 14 points from ten games, two above Tottenham. Spurs, beaten for the first time in four league games, stay on 12.
The international break comes next. Spurs are back on Saturday 21 November at home to Ipswich Town.