Leeds manager Daniel Farke was full of praise for his players as they recovered from a 2-0 half-time deficit to win 3-2 at his former club Norwich.
The visitors moved up to third in the Championship table after producing a storming second-half display to maintain their upward momentum.
Farke admitted Norwich had given him an almighty scare but was delighted his new team found a way to prevail.
He said: “I am exhausted and ready for the sofa after that. It was a great game, a really good advert for the Championship between two good sides.
“Norwich made it very difficult for us, as I knew they would, but in the end I thought it was a deserved win.
“In the first half we created more chances than you would expect but we missed them and Norwich scored twice.
“Normally when you are 2-0 down at half-time you would say there was something wrong but I thought, no, we are playing well. We just need to stay on it and be more clinical and we were.
“It was a brilliant second half for us and a massive three points and all the praise has to go to the players. These sort of wins are the best when it comes to building up confidence and we are all delighted.”
Farke was jubilant at the final whistle but said he kept his celebrations in check out of respect to the home fans.
“It was quite emotional for me coming back to Norwich, which will always be a special place for me,” he said.
“I had four-and-a-half unbelievable years here. So I didn’t think it would be right to dance around and celebrate over the moon, even though I was so happy with my lads.”
Leeds wasted chance after chance in the opening period and were punished as Norwich took two of theirs.
Shane Duffy opened his account for the Canaries by heading home a fourth-minute corner from Gabriel Sara, who doubled their advantage in the 43rd minute when he powered through some weak tackling to blast home.
The visitors got back in it just past the hour mark as Duffy scored at the wrong end, deflecting a Dan James cross into his own net after it had eluded keeper George Long, on for the injured Angus Gunn.
The fortunate break gave Leeds the impetus to go on and win it, with Crysencio Summerville producing well-taken strikes in the 77th and 85th minutes to turn the game on its head.
Norwich head coach David Wagner felt there were positives for his team despite the heartbreaking finish.
“In football you get praised if you win and criticised if you lose but sometimes you have to look beyond the result,” he said.
“I have mixed emotions because although I am obviously disappointed with the result there were many things about our performance that pleased me.
“My job is not to get carried away if we win of it we lose. It is to look at the performance and if we continue to perform at a good level like that we will start winning games again.
“We were up against a very good side and that is why we conceded more chances than we would normally do.
“But we created plenty ourselves and I feel really sorry for the lads because they have put in a real shift out there.
“I saw plenty of good things although I was not happy with the way we defended for the first and third goals and that is something we need to look at.”
Championship: Brilliant Sunderland extend perfect start, comeback win for Oxford
Top-of-the-league Sunderland extended their perfect start to the season as they beat Portsmouth 3-1 at Fratton Park to secure their fourth Championship victory in as many matches.
The visitors went ahead 31 minutes into the match through a Zak Swanson own goal and never looked back.
It was an unfortunate moment for Swanson, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time when team-mate Jordan Williams’ clearance rebounded off him into the goal.
Republic of Ireland international Alan Browne added a second - his first since signing for Sunderland in the summer transfer window - six minutes into the second half, before Romaine Mundle made it 3-0 and killed the game as a contest in the 56th minute.
Portsmouth made four substitutions on the hour, including the introduction of deadline-day signing Mark O’Mahoney, but none were able to get their team back into the match.
The hosts managed just one shot on target before Luke O’Nien’s stoppage-time own goal gave them a consolation. They await their first victory of the campaign and sit 18th in the table.
Oxford United went up alongside Portsmouth, but enjoyed their afternoon a little more as they came from behind to beat Preston North End 3-1 at the Kassam Stadium.
It was a first defeat for Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom, who was appointed manager earlier in the month after Ryan Lowe was sacked.
The visitors started better, with Emil Riis Jakobsen opening the scoring after just three minutes. But in-form Mark Harris levelled after 20 minutes with a header as he scored for the fourth straight league game.
It was to get even better for Oxford in the second half when Tyler Goodrham put them into the lead with a spectacular strike. Preston were then reduced to 10 men, with Liam Lindsay picking up a second booking in the 70th minute, and Greg Leigh wrapped up the points a minute later.
The win takes Oxford to eighth, while Preston are in 21st, one place below Sheffield Wednesday who were beaten 3-0 by Millwall at the New Den.
Josh Coburn scored on his debut for the hosts in the second half, before goals from Duncan Watmore and Jake Cooper secured Millwall’s first win of the season. For Wednesday, it’s now three straight defeats.
Unbeaten Leeds United went fourth in the table following a 2-0 victory over Hull City, who sit 19th and are still waiting for their first victory of the campaign.
Second-half goals from Mateo Joseph and Joel Piroe at Elland Road helped Leeds secure back-to-back victories for the first time this season.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
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