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Gary Lineker's Leeds United 'blown it' belief widely shared as 'better team' comment made

The Rest Is Football team have been discussing Leeds

James Smailes

12:03, 06 Apr 2026

Gary Lineker

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Gary Lineker(Image: PA)

Leeds United's "thrilling" FA Cup quarter-final win at West Ham United has been the talk of the media and pundits alike this morning after the two played out a cup classic. West Ham's two injury-time goals and the subsequent disallowed goals and tension of extra-time all added to a superb occasion at the London Stadium, with Daniel Farke's men wining on spot kicks.

It had not looked like being the nervy cup classic that it became when Leeds went two goals up thanks to a first-half strike by Ao Tanaka and a Dominic Calvert-Lewin penalty.

In the end it was goalkeeper Lucas Perri who emerged as the hero in the penalty shootout, to send Leeds through to a meeting with Chelsea at Wembley Stadium later this month.

“It looked like Leeds had blown it," was the reaction of Gary Lineker, speaking on his Rest Is Football podcast. A sentiment no doubt shared by most watching the game.

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He added; "I thought West Ham played really well in the second half and had a lot of chances, hit the post a couple of times, a couple of disallowed goals. It was a thrilling finale, but Leeds managed to dig themselves out of that hole by winning the penalty shootout.”

Co-host Micah Richards added: “I thought Leeds were the better team in normal time, then West Ham were the better team in extra-time… Traore was really good for West Ham, Tanaka scored a goal, who I mentioned at the start of the season… It was a really great game, and you were just thinking, can Leeds get over the line? All in all, it could have gone either way.”

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