Leeds United moved to the top of the Championship table with a 3-1 win over Middlesbrough on Tuesday night at Elland Road.
The Whites bounced back strongly from their 1-0 defeat against Blackburn Rovers to win two games in a row.
Leeds have now picked up five wins from their last six games and they are one of the favourites for automatic promotion this season.
Wilfried Gnonto, Daniel James and Brenden Aaronson scored for the Whites against Boro.
Leeds have shared the footage on X of the final goal that Aaronson scored with the caption – “The Pass + The Footwork + The Finish.”
It was a cracking team goal, and the final pass from Ao Tanaka to Aaronson was superb.
Leeds legend Jermaine Beckford reacted to the clip with a one-word reaction – “Tanaka” (along with a fire emoji).
Tanaka🔥
— Jermaine Beckford (@jermainebecks83) December 11, 2024
Ao Tanaka has been outstanding for Leeds United
Leeds lost some key players during the summer transfer window, including some big-money departures.
After losing the play-off final last season, it was expected that Leeds would struggle to keep hold of some of their star players, and that exactly happened.
However, the Whites added some very good players, and one of them was Tanaka, who joined from German side Fortuna Dusseldorf on a four-year deal.
The 26-year-old defensive midfielder has made an instant impact, and he is probably doing a lot better than what Glen Kamara did last season.
He has made 13 starts in the Championship, and a further four appearances have come from the bench.
Known for his fantastic passing range, tackling and ball interception abilities, he has been the epitome of consistency in the past couple of months, especially after the injury to skipper Ethan Ampadu.
He was magnificent in the 4-3 win over Swansea City and equally brilliant in the 3-0 win against Luton and the 2-0 win against Derby County as well.
Tanaka made four tackles, one interception, and three key passes (including an assist) against Boro to cap off an excellent all-round display.
Read more: Neil Redfearn blown away by one Leeds player after what he did v Boro.
