It was a big night for Black Cats goalkeeper Melker Ellborg, who was thrust into the Elland Road bearpit for his debut in place of the injured Robin Roefs, while long-serving defender Luke O’Nien captained the visitors on his first PL start.
Leeds put their opponents’ makeshift defence under pressure early on but failed to test Ellborg, and instead it was home goalkeeper Karl Darlow who made the first save when he palmed away Eliezer Mayenda’s fierce strike midway through the half, although the Sunderland striker was flagged offside.
Nevertheless, the hosts continued to dominate possession, and Anton Stach almost added to his three PL goals from direct free-kicks this season - a pre-matchday joint league-high - when he whipped a set-piece towards the bottom corner, only for Ellborg to get down well and save.
Jayden Bogle then dragged a shot wide from inside the box after Stach won the ball high up the pitch.
The first half had been lacking in quality, and the contest remained scrappy in the early stages of the second period as the home fans grew increasingly frustrated.
Their displeasure went up several notches during a dramatic few minutes just after the hour mark, too, when a pair of huge VAR calls went against the hosts.
First, Joe Rodon thought he had put Leeds ahead when he headed Stach’s free-kick in off the crossbar, but he did so from an offside position.
Just four minutes later, Wilson Isidor’s shot hit the hand of Ethan Ampadu, and referee Stuart Attwell gave a penalty after consulting the pitchside monitor.
Diarra stepped up and, while Darlow guessed the right way, he let the spot-kick squirm through his grasp to allow the Sunderland midfielder to wheel away and celebrate his third goal in seven games across all competitions.
Leeds hunted an equaliser, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin was inches away from converting Daniel James’ low cross before Jaka Bijol struck the outside of the post from close range.
The fourth official signalled 12 minutes of stoppage time, but the Sunderland defence held firm to claim their fourth win in their past seven visits to Elland Road across all competitions (D2, L1), and just their third victory in 12 PL H2Hs (D1, L8).
The Black Cats climb to 11th, while Leeds remain six points above the relegation zone in 15th as they suffered successive top-flight defeats on their own turf for the first time since April 2023.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Habib Diarra (Sunderland)