Leeds United 3-3 Cardiff City: Hosts denied top spot as Bluebirds fight back
- Published
Patrick Bamford scored from the spot for Leeds after being brought down by Cardiff keeper Neil Etheridge
Cardiff City fought back from 3-0 down and equalised when down to 10 men to prevent Leeds United from returning to the top of the Championship.
West Bromwich Albion had gone top by beating Birmingham in the early kick-off but Marcelo Bielsa's men responded with three goals, the first from Helder Costa and two by Patrick Bamford, including a penalty.
Lee Tomlin gave Cardiff hope of a late revival on the hour and Sean Morrison added their second, only to then be sent off for a late tackle.
Despite their man disadvantage, Cardiff staged a grandstand finish as Robert Glatzel guided in Tomlin's flick to level.
Neil Harris' side drop three places to 12th, with Leeds finishing the day second behind West Brom.
The draw ended Leeds' seven-match winning run as Cardiff produced a remarkable comeback, largely against the run of play.
The hosts were 2-0 up within a stunning opening 10 minutes in which Harris' side had no answer to Leeds' pace.
They struck first on the break as, with the Bluebirds slow to respond, Pablo Hernandez's superb pass allowed Costa to fire home.
Before Cardiff could recover they were 2-0 down as Bamford added the second, deftly pulling down Stuart Dallas' cross before hitting the back of the net from close range.
Tomlin saw a shot blocked as the Bluebirds sought a response, but they continued to concede possession, often easily, as the opening period wore on.
Cardiff started with more purpose immediately after the break, but Neil Etheridge brought down Bamford in the box and he punished the visiting goalkeeper from the spot.
Tomlin produced a sublime response, lobbing over the home defence from an acute angle.
And when captain Morrison headed in their second in the 83rd minute, the home fans fell silent.
More drama followed two minutes later as Morrison was sent off for a lunging tackle on on-loan Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah.
But that did not deter the visitors as Glatzel produced a composed low finish after Tomlin's sublime assist to bring an end to a pulsating encounter.
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa said:
"I did not get the preparation right because I knew about Cardiff City's strengths and we didn't resolve it.
"We knew how dangerous they are in the air and from set-pieces. Set-pieces are crucial in this division and Cardiff made us pay in that area today.
"Some of our attacking play was the best I have seen from Leeds and It is difficult to explain the result. There is no way we should have drawn that game."
Cardiff City manager Neil Harris said:
"It's a hard one because Leeds were obviously better than us and as bad as we were at times defensively to give away really poor goals, I can't do anything but praise my players.
"The character in the group, the desire in the group, the ability in the group to come back and score goals is first class.
"So I'm a very happy manager with a point and I'm very pleased with the thought process of the team to come from behind. However, for us to move forward we've got to be better than we are at the moment. We're conceding cheap goals."