Daniel Farke praised the quality of forward Georginio Rutter after he played a part in two goals in the 3-0 Championship victory over Watford at Elland Road.
Second-half goals from Joel Piroe, Sam Byram and Jaidon Anthony sealed three points for Leeds as Rutter put in perhaps his best performance in a United shirt.
Piroe gave Leeds the lead midway through the second half as he volleyed home to finish off a fine move by Farke’s side.
Byram capped his return to the side as he headed in from a corner and Anthony’s late goal moved Leeds up to fifth in the table having seen off a Watford outfit who rarely threatened.
Farke said of Rutter: “I think we can be absolutely happy with him today, his work ethic. He is great in linking the play.
“He is still a relatively young lad, it’s important that we were concentrated on scoring the first goal.
“He had great assists, it was a top-class performance. He deserves all the praise today.”
Despite seeing his side score three goals, Farke claimed he was most pleased with keeping a clean sheet.
Farke explained: “It was an exciting game, especially the second half. That we were able to return to the dressing room with a clean sheet was pleasing.
“We created so many chances in the first half. In the second half we were able to turn our domination into goals.
“The focus was very pleasing for me and I am very pleased with the clean sheet.”
Leeds could not find a way past Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann until the 67th minute when Piroe volleyed in at the far post from a Dan James cross after Rutter’s strength on halfway had seen him release the winger down the right.
Leeds made it 2-0 within four minutes as the unmarked Byram got on the end of James’ corner to power a header past Bachmann.
When Watford did get into the Leeds area half-time substitute Vakoun Bayo steered his shot off target which said a lot about the lack of quality shown by Valerien Ismael’s side.
Substitute Anthony sealed the win as he was released by Rutter on halfway before steering his shot past Bachmann with a minute remaining.
Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier was finally called into action in stoppage time when he tipped over a rising shot from Giorgi Chakvetadze.
Ismael admitted Leeds had been better on the day and deserved to take three points.
He said: “Congratulations to Leeds, I think they deserved the win. They had more desire.
“We knew when you come here you have to be strong. Second half we changed the shape and I think we were more stable but when we conceded the first goal we knew after that it would be difficult.”
Ismael admitted his players had failed the make the home side work as hard as he would have liked.
He said: “From our side when you come here we know we have to make it harder. We lost the ball too easy, we did not have the confidence we have normally.
“We have to learn, to make sure we compete at that level and show that quality. We wanted to play well but in the first half they put us under massive pressure.
“They were better today, it was as simple as that. They didn’t make mistakes, they were clinical in the second half.”
Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Watford: Two-goal Gray rescues point for Rooney's side
Andre Gray scored twice against his former club to salvage a point for struggling Plymouth Argyle as they drew 2-2 with Watford on Friday.
Gray curled in an equaliser in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time to seal a crucial point for Wayne Rooney's side in their bid for survival in the Championship.
The visitors made a quick start at Home Park when Ivorian striker Vakoun Bayo bundled in a cross from Yasser Larouci only eight minutes in.
Plymouth did, however, equalise against the run of play in the 23rd minute when Lewis Gibson's long ball into the box was met with a spectacular volley from Gray.
Watford regained the lead before the break when Imran Louza's free-kick was knocked back by Mattie Pollock, with centre-back Ryan Porteous on hand to steer the ball home.
But just as it looked like Watford would go home with all three points, Gray picked up the ball on the edge of the area and fired home a stunning effort beyond Daniel Bachmann.
Tom Cleverley's Watford sit in fifth place and trail leaders Sunderland by five points, while Plymouth are 17th with 17 points from 16 matches.
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
