(Credit: Imago)

Evan Shaw

Sun 19 April 2026 11:30, UK

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Leeds United saw their hopes of Premier League survival receive a huge boost on Saturday afternoon as Tottenham conceded late to draw 2-2 with Brighton on home turf. 

Daniel Farke’s men took care of their own business by cruising past bottom club Wolves with a 3-0 win at Elland Road, as goals from James Justin, Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin took the Whites just one point shy of the 40-point mark.

Their afternoon then got even better when their former player Georginio Rutter stepped up to fire home a stoppage-time equaliser for Brighton, condemning Spurs to their 15th consecutive league game without a win.

Rutter’s strike has left the North Londoners inside the relegation zone, and eight points adrift of Farke’s side, with just 15 left to play for.

Leeds’ hopes of survival are now firmly within their grasp heading into the final few games, and they have one of their former heroes to thank. 

Stuart Dallas delighted amid thanks to Georginio Rutter

Rutter became a hero at Elland Road during the club’s days in the Championship, as he notched 22 goal involvements when the Whites narrowly missed out on promotion back in 2023-24. 

That form earned him a £40million move to Brighton at the start of last season, where he struck five Premier League goals during his first campaign in the top flight. 

The Frenchman is slightly below that total with just three goals to his name this term, but his effort on Saturday may be his most pivotal of the season in the context of the relegation battle. 

Brighton’s draw kept them on the coattails of Chelsea in the race to secure European football for next term, while it also did wonders for Rutter’s former club.

He is still held in high regard at Elland Road, and his goal on Saturday will have done little to change that, given the position that it has left Leeds in.

The magnitude of Rutter’s goal was clearly recognised by some of his former teammates, as ex-Leeds star Stuart Dallas quickly took to Instagram to send a message.

Rutter posted a photo of himself celebrating his equaliser against Tottenham on Instagram, with Dallas responding with: “Absolutely marvellous,” followed by a smiling emoji and a blue and yellow heart. 

Wilfried Gnonto also weighed in on the post, as he simply responded with: “Merci” and a love heart emoji. 

Opta strikingly clear over Leeds’ chances of relegation

Leeds’ hopes of Premier League survival received a massive shot in the arm after Saturday’s results, and the end goal is now in sight for Farke and the squad. 

The West Yorkshire outfit had been slowly slipping back towards the bottom three after their recent winless run, but that has been firmly addressed by their pair of victories this week.

As a result, Opta’s supercomputer has now issued the striking prediction that there is less than a one per cent chance that Leeds end the campaign on the wrong side of the dotted line. 

Farke will undoubtedly not be able to rest easily until the job is completely done, but it is now clear to everybody that his team are effectively one step away from getting over the line.