Daniel Farke felt Leeds’ 1-0 victory over Stoke was his side’s “best win in 2024” as they continued their Championship automatic-promotion charge.
Dan James could have had a couple in the first half but for Daniel Iversen’s saves before the Wales international put his side ahead with his 11th goal of the season just after the half-hour mark.
Stoke did not roll over and Illan Meslier kept out chances from Lewis Baker, Tyrese Campbell and Josh Laurent in the second period.
Mateo Joseph saw one blocked off the line to deny Leeds a second while substitute Ben Pearson was sent off late on for the visitors.
Farke said: “For me, it is the best win in 2024 because everyone expects us to win this home game.
“Everyone expects us at Elland Road to beat each and every opponent right now against a team not in the best position and think it should be an easy win.
“It feels like in the stadium ‘we are going there for a cup of tea and a cake’ perhaps instead of this explosion we had against Leicester where everyone was on it.”
Leeds kept the heat on top two Leicester and Ipswich and will play their third league game in six days when they travel to Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night.
Farke’s side have a chance to put points on the board before their promotion rivals but the German bemoaned the congested fixture list.
He added: “Even today was our third game in six days with two tough away games and thank God the home game today.
“Four games in 10 days, I’m not sure any other teams in Europe have such a schedule but what else can we do. We have to adapt to it and try keep going and stay unbeaten.
“When you have such a schedule you cannot expect offensive fireworks and top-class games. You can’t always be at your best in this schedule – I’m happy out of the last three games we have seven points.”
Stoke boss Steven Schumacher praised his side, who remain in the bottom three of the Championship.
He said: “I think we showed some real character and stood up to some intense pressure at times.
“We didn’t fold or buckle which is a good sign from the team that they are ready for the challenge and I think in the second half we showed everyone what type of team we can be but didn’t do enough to get the equaliser we probably deserved.
“I don’t think he (Pearson) needs to get involved in the first one and the second one there is not a lot in it. It’s frustrating because we will miss Ben again.
“Iversen made some good saves tonight and he kept us in the game. He is a good goalkeeper and we will need him in the run-in.”
Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win
Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.
The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.
With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.
“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.
“The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."
After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.
Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.
“Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.
"Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.
“The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style
Leicester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship on Monday to clinch the title with a game to spare.
Jamie Vardy was the star for the Foxes as he scored in both halves before Kasey McAteer made sure of the points with an unmarked header.
Abdul Fatawu had the chance to cap an already memorable night for the travelling fans but hit the post with his curler.
Preston slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, while Leicester go into their final game against Blackburn Rovers with the knowledge that they will lift the trophy after the final whistle.
Data Debrief
Jamie Vardy has scored 18 goals this season (two in this game), more than any other Leicester player in the competition. He has also netted in his last three games, scoring four goals in total.
It was a dominant performance from the Foxes, who had 19 shots with 11 of those on target. At the other end, Preston only managed to test Jakub Stolarczyk once from their five attempts.
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