**Leeds United and Brentford played out a spectacularly entertaining 1-1 draw at Elland Road this afternoon.**
Kevin Schade opened the scoring shortly before half time with a simply incredible flicked finish over Trafford and into the far corner.
It was Dominic Calvert-Lewin who popped up with the leveller for Leeds late in the day, firing into an empty net from just a few yards out.
Following two wins over Nottingham Forest in the last week, Daniel Farke named just one change to his starting XI, which saw Noah Okafor replace Harry Wilson. Meanwhile, Keith Andrews made two changes to the side that hammered Tottenham last weekend, with Mikkel Damsgaard and Jaidon Anthony replacing Mathias Jensen and Dango Outtara.
Brentford almost got off to the perfect start, when Mamadou Sangaré won the ball high up the pitch before a cross picked out Schade, who mis-kicked his shot completely. Leeds earned themselves a similar opportunity minutes later, when Jayden Bogle steemed onto the ball at the far post before cutting it back to Stach, who had the ball taken off his toes by Sangaré.
The fast-paced start to the match continued, when Igor Thiago and Nathan Collins forced saves out of James Trafford in the Leeds United goal. Damsgaard was next to test the keeper, with his powerful strike stinging the palms of Trafford as Brentford continued to dominate the opening stages.
Michael Kayode won a free-kick for Brentford in a dangerous area, after being brought down by Bogle. Damsgaard delivered the ball into the area from the set-piece, but could only find Joe Rodon, who headed away at the far post.
Anthony was shown the first yellow card of the match on the half-hour mark for a cycnical foul that haulted a Leeds counterattack. Rodon pulled up with a hamstring injury moments later, and was immediately withdrawn for Nico Elvedi.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin looked to leap above Collins to head home an opener for the hosts, but the Bees defender just about did enough to put him off. However, it was Schade who opened the scoring with a simply incredible flicked finish over Trafford and into the far corner.
Neither side fashioned any more chances before the break, meaning Brentford went in 1-0 up.
Farke turned to his bench during the break, introducing Ao Tanaka and Wilson in favour of Brenden Aaronson and Jaka Bijol. Damsgaard came close to doubling Brentford’s lead early in the second half, but his header flew over the bar.
The Bees’ first change came on the hour mark, when Outtara replaced Anthony. James Justin registered Leeds’ first shot on target moments later, drifting inside from the left before taking aim and forcing a save from Caoimhín Kelleher.
Another double change followed for Leeds, with Bogle and Okafor replaced by Dan James andLukas Nmecha. Meanwhile, Damsgaard was replaced by Yehor Yarmoliuk for Brentford. Kayode then took on a speculative effort from the edge of the box, but it was deflected over, winning his side a corner, but the visitors couldn’t make the opportunity count.
Instead, James broke with menace for Leeds, but he was forced wide by Keane Lewis-Potter and then was unable to dig a cross out from under himself. Kristoffer Ajer and Vitaly Janelt were both shown yellow cards as Leeds began to gain a foothold in the match with 15 minutes remaining.
It was Calvert-Lewin who popped up with the leveller for Leeds just two minutes later, firing into an empty net from just a few yards out after the ball ricocheted off Collins. Thiago looked to restore Brentford’s lead almost immediately, but his close-range header was anticiapted and saved by Trafford.
Calvert-Lewin almost netted a second in the 84th minute, but Kelleher was equal to it, coming off his line and making an excellent save. Brentford’s final changes saw Lewis-Potter, Schade and Kayode replaced by Callum Wilson, Rico Henry and Aaron Hickey.
Wilson saw a late penalty claim waved away by the referee, and also cleared by VAR. Collins was shown a yellow card by the referee in the 92nd minute, as Wilson looked to burst in behind for Leeds.
The resultant free-kick saw Anton Stach curl the ball wide, bringing the curtain down on an entertaining affair in Yorkshire.