Leeds United’s quest to return to the Premier League was handed a huge boost on Monday evening thanks to a dramatic last-gasp victory over promotion rivals Sunderland at Elland Road.
Daniel Farke’s side trailed the Black Cats with just 12 minutes to go when substitute Pascal Struijk nodded home an equaliser from a Joe Rothwell free-kick, before the same pair combined for a 95th-minute winner to send the home fans into raptures.
The victory sees Leeds move two points clear of Sheffield United at the top of the table and seven ahead of third-placed Burnley. Sunderland now sit 10 points behind the Whites. And while the thrilling victory is a huge boost for Leeds’ promotion hopes, one Premier League team will have been watching on with interest.
Will Liverpool and Leeds United history repeat itself?
Leeds were denied an immediate return to the Premier League following their 2022/23 relegation last year, when they lost to Southampton in the play-final, but sit top of the table ahead of the second-tier run-in and will be hoping to replicate their 2019/20 Championship title win under Marcelo Bielsa.
That ended a 16-year wait to return to the Premier League, but it wasn’t the only run that came to an end in English football that season, with the omens lining up for a repeat performance this season.
As Leeds celebrated their return to English football’s top table, further down the M62, Liverpool had just been crowned champions of England, their first title in 30 years.
Liverpool’s 1990 First Division title was the 18th in their history and, as was the case in 2020, came in the same season that Leeds won the second tier, as Howard Wilkinson saw his side lift the Second Division trophy.
Leeds’ previous Second Division win came in the 1963/64 season at the start of the Don Revie era, and - you guessed it - Liverpool won the First Division title that year, their first league win under Bill Shankly.
So that means the last three times that Leeds have won the second tier, Liverpool have been crowned champions of England, meaning Reds fans may want to cheer on Leeds in the coming weeks in the hope that history repeats itself and Arne Slot’s side maintain their position at the top of the table.
The one anomaly to this record came more than 100 years ago, when Leeds won the 1923/24 Second Division to win promotion to the top flight for the first time in their history. Liverpool had won the previous two First Division titles, but slumped to a 12th-placed finish under manager Matt McQueen.
In FourFourTwo’s view, history looks well-placed to repeat itself this year as Liverpool and Leeds go for a fourth pair of simultaneous first and second-tier titles, with the Reds seven points clear at the top of the Premier League and Leeds two clear in the Championship. But both sides have tough fixtures coming up over the next week - Liverpool visit Aston Villa and Manchester City, while Leeds head to Sheffield United - so any positive omens will be welcomed by both sets of fans.
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