Brenden Aaronson praises 'special' Ao Tanaka as decisive Leeds United trait clear in Middlesbrough win

Brenden Aaronson insists an aggressive mentality proved decisive against Middlesbrough on Tuesday as Leeds United twice scored after pressing their visitors into mistakes.

Leeds ran out 3-1 winners at Elland Road but were made to battle right until the end by an impressive Middlesbrough outfit. Willy Gnonto opened the scoring inside 14 minutes but Max Wober’s second-half own-goal paved the way for a tight period in which either side could have gone in front.

It was Leeds who restored their lead eventually through James’ arrowed effort before Aaronson made it three in added-time. But credit on both occasions must go to Sam Byram and Ao Tanaka, who snapped into challenges and set the wheels in motion for a devastating counter-attack - something the final goalscorer insists was the difference-maker.

“Coming into the locker room, seeing the celebrations, it's a huge win for us,” Aaronson told LUTV. “They're a really good team. Credit to them, coming and giving us a really good game. Not many people have come and really try to play but they tried to take it to us. It was a well deserved win, I think we were on top of our game.

“I think we were hungry tonight, we wanted it and you could see with all the attacking players, yeah we’re not defenders but we all have this mentality that we can nick the ball and score goals from that. That's what happens in the top leagues in the world and it's what we need to continue to do because you can score goals like this.”

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Nerves were still present inside Elland Road as seven minutes of added-time were confirmed but they quickly dissipated when Aaronson reeled away in celebration, having scrambled in his side’s third and final goal. That’s five for the American this season but praise once again was directed to those involved in forging the chance.

Tanaka not only won the initial ball, but then burst into the box to claim James’ pass before sorting his feet out to lay it on a plate for Aaronson. The Japan international was exceptional in all areas once again and his influence has not been lost among the Leeds squad.

“Honestly, I wanted to take it at first but I knew Ao was in a better spot so I just let it go,” the American admitted. “I just tried to get level with the ball so it's an easy pass across the box and a tap-in for me. Credit to Ao, he’s been so special these last weeks and helped us a tonne. You can see the kind of selfless player he is to square it to me. It’s rewarding getting a goal, I don't want to score a tonne of tap-ins, but I'll take it.

“It was lively tonight, one of the best [atmospheres] I've seen. It was awesome for us, we need to keep going like this, we’re building a fortress at home and we need to keep going. Now it's time to work on our away record. We need to go this weekend at Preston where it’s going to be a tough away game, but we need to get results.”