Sunderland had lost each of their last four league matches, and it took them seven minutes to muster any kind of attack here, but James Trafford had to be sharp to repel Brian Brobbey’s effort from the edge of the box, preventing the hosts from taking the lead.
Leeds otherwise had the better of the general early play, but struggled to create any real openings, and Brobbey again came close to breaking the deadlock when he nearly managed to pounce on an attempted backpass that had held up in the strong wind.
The weather undoubtedly played its part in a disjointed, uneventful opening 45 minutes, during which neither side ever really managed to get going.
Leeds once again started the stronger in the second period, and Ethan Ampadu briefly appeared to be in behind the Black Cats’ defence, but his low cross was blocked away from danger.
Tarik Muharemovic then mustered the visitors’ first shot on target, but he couldn’t steer his header either side of Robin Roefs.
At the other end, Nilson Angulo tested Trafford with a bending long-range effort, but the goalkeeper was equal to it.
Substitute Omar Alderete appeared to have spurned the best chance of the game after he latched onto the end of a free kick, but the offside flag went up anyway.
Despite their midweek endeavours against Lech Poznan, Sunderland strengthened as the game went on, and Granit Xhaka’s corner nearly crept in under the crossbar.
However, there was a nervy moment when Roefs spilt Ao Tanaka’s shot, gathering the rebound somewhat clumsily under pressure from Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
In the 90th minute, Roefs did enough once more, denying former Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff, and he had one more big chance in stoppage time, but Sunderland just about scrambled the ball away to secure a point.
Despite some promising signs, the draw leaves Sunderland marooned at the bottom of the table, and concerningly, six of the last eight teams to occupy that position at this stage have gone on to be relegated.
The outlook is sunnier for Leeds in seventh, whose tally of 11 points represents their best start since 2002/03.
Flashscore Man of the Match: James Trafford (Leeds United)
Key stats
- Sunderland have failed to score in four of their eight games; only Coventry City (five) have failed to score more often in the Premier League this season.
- Sunderland have failed to win in their last six games in the Premier League; their last longer winless streak was from 11th February 2017 to 29th April 2017, a run of 10 games.
- Leeds United have failed to win in their last four games in the Premier League; their last longer winless streak was from 10th February 2026 to 21st March 2026, a run of six games.
