Daniel Farke admitted his Leeds side made life complicated in a 2-1 win over Plymouth at Elland Road which keeps them in the automatic promotion race.
Leeds controlled the first half but were nearly caught out after the Pilgrims grabbed a late goal.
Dan James gave Leeds an early lead as he curled in, and Joel Piroe doubled the advantage in another dominant first-half display which the home side failed to build on after the interval.
Substitute Ben Waine’s late consolation ensured a nervous finish for the home fans.
Farke said: “I take the three points all day long. If you would have offered me a 2-1 win before the game, I would have taken it.
“It was an outstanding win at Leicester and the training week was too easy. I was waiting for a sucker punch.
“The result was perfect and obviously when you are so dominant like we were in the first half and the chances we had in the second half, if you don’t score the goals in the second half there is a good and brave opponent who plays with freedom and goes for it.
“Our defending was excellent, in the second half they had one chance and they scored a goal. I was pleased we didn’t allow them one more chance to score. We made our life more complicated that it should have been.”
Leeds created plenty of early pressure and took the lead when James curled home from the edge of the area after Kaine Kesler-Hayden gave the ball away with 20 minutes gone.
Crysencio Summerville played in Piroe behind the Plymouth back line, and he slid the ball between goalkeeper Michael Cooper’s legs just before the half hour to make it 2-0.
Plymouth proved more of a threat in the second half and scored with five minutes remaining as Luke Cundle chased a ball down the right and crossed low for Waine to turn home from close range.
Steven Schumacher felt his side had acquitted themselves well against a team pushing for promotion to the Premier League.
He said: “For 20 minutes in the first half I thought we did OK. We limited Leeds to a few chances on goal.
“The only disappointing thing in the first half was the two errors in front of our own box.
Against a top team with quality players, we got punished.
“Second half obviously we were a bit better. We had nothing to lose with 25 minutes, half an hour to go. I am really pleased with the effort against a top team.”
Schumacher was happy with the impact of his substitutes.
He said: “We always say it whether you start a game or come off the bench it’s important you know your role. I thought Ben Waine gave us a focal point at the top end of the pitch.”
Schumacher also felt his side should have had a first-half penalty.
“The one when Bali (Mumba) went into the box you could hear the contact. I asked why that wasn’t a foul and was told it was a coming together. If we had gone in 2-1 at half time it would have given us confidence.
“Our lads give us absolutely everything they have got. When we got that goal, we had a great chance to get an equaliser. I’m proud of the lads that we kept going.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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