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.”
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided
Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.
Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.
At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.
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