With 2025 drawing to a close, everyone at Leeds United will be able to take stock and reflect on what has been an incredible year for the club.
Bookended by uncertainty, as Leeds started the season with two draws in their promotion hunt and ended it in a Premier League relegation battle, 2025 was a year to remember.
Leeds secured a record-high points total as the Whites claimed the Championship title under the leadership of Daniel Farke.
The Whites also said goodbye to several club icons, with the likes of Patrick Bamford and Junior Firpo leaving in the summer.
While there were a number of nervy moments, the year as a whole will be remembered as one of the greatest in the club’s history. Here are my five favourite games:
Six points clear of the bottom three – Leeds can start to relax… can’t they? 😤
5. Sheffield United 1-3 Leeds United
It says a lot about the last 12 months that this game only just makes it into the top five games of the season.
Leeds’ 3-1 win away at promotion contenders Sheffield United was almost the perfect distillation of the Whites’ season. The Blades took an early lead thanks to an own goal from Illan Meslier, before a thrilling late comeback turned the game on its head.
Wearing the incredibly popular yellow away kit, Junior Firpo pulled Leeds level before Ao Tanaka and Joel Piroe added goals in the 89th and 90th minutes to spark spectacular scenes of celebration from the Leeds fans.
The win at Bramall Lane was not just a normal win; for many fans, it was the day that the hope that Leeds could secure promotion became an expectation.
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4. Leeds United 7-0 Cardiff
Although the 2024/25 season ended in success for Farke’s side, it felt like a grind at times, as Leeds failed to turn promising displays into the hammerings they deserved.
However, this was not the case when Cardiff came to Elland Road in February 2025, as the home side found their form in front of goal in spectacular fashion.
Leeds’ 7-0 win was the first time they scored seven goals in a home game since Don Revie’s side famously dismantled Southampton by the same scoreline in 1972.
The fact that this performance came off the back of a turgid 0-0 draw against Burnley made it even sweeter for the fans.
3. Leeds United 3-1 Chelsea
The 2025/26 season provided a late contender for the list, as Farke’s side took Chelsea to the cleaners under the lights at a fizzing Elland Road.
The context of this game is important. Farke was under pressure coming into the game, with sections of the Elland Road crowd chanting in his direction during the previous home game against Aston Villa.
What a difference a win makes. Goals from Jaka Bijol, Ao Tanaka and Dominic Calvert-Lewin gave Leeds a well-deserved win and the fans something to cheer about after a long winless run.
If Leeds can stay up this season, this game may well be remembered as the spark that lit the fire under Farke’s side.
The highlights of stunning Leeds United win v Chelsea 😍
2. Plymouth 1-2 Leeds United
This game should probably be number one, but the fact that it was away from home swung me away from giving it the top spot.
However, that does not make it any less special. Who could forget the late winner from Manor Solomon that saw Leeds secure the Championship title with the final kick of the season?
The wild scenes that followed this game should probably be taken into consideration, as the whole city of Leeds came out to salute the champions.
Willy Gnonto also deserves credit, as his equaliser pulled Leeds back into title contention. However, from a personal perspective, nothing tops number one on the list.
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1. Leeds United 6-1 Stoke City
I have personally witnessed a lot of Leeds games over the years, from the Champions League days as a child, to being on the pitch as Alan Smith was carried off shoulder high following relegation.
As a teenager, it was inconceivable that I would be in my 30s when I got to witness Leeds’ return to the Premier League in person. The 2019/20 season was a joy, but it was tempered by living out the experience behind closed doors.
To watch the win over Stoke from the Cheese Wedge was a perfect experience. Elland Road bathed in sunshine, singing no Piroe, no party until my voice was hoarse, unable to conceive what was happening.
While promotion wasn’t technically sealed there and then, that celebration was a cathartic release. The play-off final defeats, the relegations, the years of frustration under Bates, GFH and Massimo Cellino. All finally washed away.
Leeds might get relegated this season. Farke may not see out the season. Piroe may leave in the January transfer window. But for anyone who was inside Elland Road on that glorious April day (except for the Stoke fans), everything coalesced into one perfect afternoon.
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