Crysencio Summerville was Leeds’ hero as his stoppage-time equaliser rescued a dramatic 2-2 draw against gutsy Cardiff.
The Dutchman rifled home low into the corner with seconds remaining as Daniel Farke’s men pocketed a point after being two goals behind at the interval.
The new-look Bluebirds had defended their goal superbly in the second half, but they were thwarted at the death.
It was an impressive season opener for the Welshmen after they ended the last campaign way down in 21st place in the second tier.
With Farke and Erol Bulut both taking charge of their respective teams for the first time, it proved to be a rather cagey opening quarter-of-an-hour.
At that point it was Leeds who burst into life, with Wilfried Gnonto leading the charge.
After seeing a smart effort blocked bravely by Mark McGuinness, the electric Italian then volleyed inches past the upright after meeting Luke Ayling’s knock-down.
It was the Bluebirds who stunned the home faithful after 23 minutes, however, courtesy of one of their debutants.
Josh Bowler – signed on loan from Nottingham Forest during the week – notched at the second attempt from eight yards.
Callum O’Dowda had crossed in from the left, and after Ethan Ampadu blocked an initial strike, Ike Ugbo teed up Bowler and he side-footed home smartly.
The goal was clearly a huge shock for Leeds, but they responded positively.
Summerville fired a free-kick into the wall, before Daniel James charged towards the Cardiff box and blazed disappointingly over the top.
Summerville forced Bluebirds goalkeeper Jak Alnwick into a flying save, before Elland Road was stunned again as the visitors notched a second six minutes before the interval.
Ugbo – another debutant – slid in to poke home Aaron Ramsey’s deflected cross at the far post.
Ramsey – back making his third Bluebirds bow after 12 years away – was proving hugely influential as the visitors were now in firm control.
Three minutes into the second period Leeds were right back in contention when Liam Cooper powerfully headed home Summerville’s out-swinging corner.
With the home fans still on their feet, Gnonto danced through the Cardiff defence before seeing a shot flicked on to the top of the bar by Alnwick.
At the three-quarter point it was all Leeds, with Alnwick superb again when keeping out James’ curling strike.
The Bluebirds were offering precious little as an attacking force, but their defence was standing firm in the face of now consistent Leeds pressure.
They also survived strong penalty appeals when Summerville was sent tumbling under a challenge.
Leeds, however – back in the Championship after three seasons in the top flight – finally got the point they probably deserved when Summerville rifled home after Luis Sinisterra’s initial effort ricocheted into his path.
Real Madrid hit Twente for seven, five-star Wolfsburg also win big
Real Madrid had six different goalscorers as they trounced Twente 7-0 in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday, while Wolfsburg beat Galatasaray 5-0.
Signe Bruun opened the scoring three minutes into the Group B encounter at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, then Maria Mendez's header gave Madrid a 2-0 half-time lead.
Madrid, who had won one and lost one of their opening two games in the tournament, got a third through Naomie Feller five minutes into the second half, then Caroline Weir made it 4-0 with a brilliant free-kick.
Mendez headed home her second of the encounter shortly after the hour mark, while Oihane Hernandez and Carla Camacho got on the scoresheet late on to complete the rout.
The victory took Madrid second in the Group B standings ahead of Chelsea's trip to Celtic.
Wolfsburg were also convincing victors in Group A, getting off the mark for this season's competition as Rebecka Blomqvist scored a hat-trick in their 5-0 thrashing of Galatasaray.
The Bundesliga side – who failed to pick up a point or score a goal in their opening two matches – had a narrow 1-0 lead at half-time through Joelle Wedemeyer, before Blomqvist took centre-stage in the second period.
She tapped home after Janina Minge struck the crossbar, then added her second goal in the 77th minute and her third six minutes into stoppage time.
Vivien Endemann powered home a fifth for Wolfsburg one minute later, as they provisionally moved within three points of Lyon and Roma ahead of their meeting.
Taylor pleased with City's physical test during Hammarby win
Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his team stood up to the physical challenge of Hammarby in their 2-0 Champions League victory on Tuesday.
City's win extended their unbeaten start to the season, having won every game in all competitions following a 2-2 draw against Arsenal on opening day.
“Difficult game for us, physical challenge, a physical team in Hammarby. I think they outnumber us a little bit in terms of size, considering when you look at our midfield. But I thought the girls handled it really well," Taylor said after the game
“I thought we dominated the game. In the early parts we were just a little bit off in our final action. We just needed to speed up a little bit in terms of being on the end of it, and we spoke about that at half-time, and we score with Laura getting into that type of position we’d been talking about.
“[The physicality was something] we were prepared for, but dealing with it is a different thing. Having Bunny [Khadija Shaw] and Alanna [Kennedy] on the pitch, two of our more physical players, is really important, particularly for set-plays.
“At 1-0 we were defending a couple of scenarios like that, Yama [Ayaka Yamashita] making a really good save at one point. Then Aoba [Fujino] got the goal that maybe allowed us to change things up a little bit more, get some people off that we’d like to manage.
“I think the girls have dealt with it really well tonight. We expected it, we thought it would be difficult, and they rose to the challenge.”
The victory leaves City top of their Champions League group with a 100% record after three matches, three points above second-placed Barcelona.
Taylor had made changes to City's starting XI, with Lauren Hemp among the trio to drop out from the weekend and she did not feature in the squad. Ahead of their weekend game against Chelsea, who are second in the WSL, Taylor explained the reasoning behind Hemp's absence.
“We’ve just got an issue with Lauren that we just need to analyse a little bit further, that’s all," he said.
“It’s something that potentially happened in the Palace game [on 3 November]. She was able to play in the Tottenham game [last Friday] but wasn’t able to tonight, so we’ll just take a little bit longer to assess and find out more.
“Hopefully [she can play against Chelsea]. There’s an opportunity there, we’ll just have to take a moment tomorrow, have a good conversation and find out where we’re at with the medical staff.”
Campbell gives Sheffield United victory in Steel City derby, Rodriguez strikes late for Burnley
Sheffield United joined leaders Sunderland at the top of the Championship table after a hard-fought 1-0 win against local rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
After a goalless first half, Tyrese Campbell latched onto a pass from Callum O'Hare and slotted past Wednesday goalkeeper James Beadle for the winner five minutes into the second period.
This was the Blades' sixth consecutive clean sheet at Bramall Lane and their fourth straight win home or away, and sees them go level with Sunderland on 31 points from 15 matches.
Meanwhile, Burnley are four points behind the top two after they snatched a last-gasp 1-0 victory against visitors Swansea City.
Jay Rodriguez's stoppage-time penalty secured the points for the Clarets at Turf Moor, ending their four-match winless run and climbing to fourth in the table.
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