Daniel Farke could not hide his delight as Leeds deservedly beat Preston 2-1 at a raucous Elland Road to return to the Championship summit.
Tottenham loanee Manor Solomon opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a dipping right-footed shot from 18 yards which flew into the far corner.
Two minutes later, Preston equalised with a superb strike from Kaine Kesler-Hayden but Leeds soon restored their advantage when Solomon crossed from the left and Jayden Bogle fired home.
Bogle’s 13th-minute winner – his sixth since joining Leeds from Sheffield United last summer – drew Farke’s men level on points with Burnley but above them on points difference.
Farke said: “It feels pretty good after an exhausting week with two difficult away games and then this complicated game at home to Preston.
“It was a priceless three points for us and a really good performance.
“We could have made our lives easier by taking a few more of our chances.
“It must have been definitely been one of the highest expected goals in a game for us during the whole season.
“Normally we should have scored six or seven today but nevertheless it was a priceless three points and it feels pretty good.
“We were on it today and the fire was burning – we started on the front foot and they equalised but it didn’t disturb us and we scored a fantastic second goal.”
Significantly, Leeds are now five points ahead of Chris Wilder’s faltering third-placed Blades, who slipped to a third successive defeat after losing 2-1 at Plymouth Argyle.
The scoreline from Home Park filtered through at Elland Road and Leeds boss Farke admitted: “You could sense the reaction of our supporters.
“I didn’t know the scoreline but was aware it could be important.
“I think it led to a situation when we were all a little bit more on it and everyone in the stadium could sense ‘come on, we need to win these three points’ but I didn’t want to be over-excited.
“I liked the balance – the fire was burning but we played with fire in the heart and cool in the head so that’s always a good blend. It was a tight result but a top performance.”
Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom took heart from his side’s performance and believes his former club Leeds will now take some stopping in the automatic promotion race.
Heckingbottom said: “Overall, I was delighted with the effort and the commitment from the players, but Leeds had the better chances, let’s be fair.
“I enjoyed watching the second half, especially when it gets open, you know you’re going to give a bit of space away to them and they’ve got really good players.
“But we were brave, we kept trying to pass the ball, we just couldn’t create the chances that they created.
“Leeds will take some stopping now and they have the bonus of Burnley and Sheffield United playing each other on Easter Monday.
“I said to Daniel as we were walking off the pitch ‘if you’re a Leeds manager or fan, you’ve got to be delighted about that fixture which is coming off’.”
