Leeds United are heading back to the Premier League for a glorious return as Championship champions - and particularly key steps helped achieve that feat.
Daniel Farke’s Whites were left staring at another season in the second tier after last May’s 1-0 defeat to Southampton in the Championship play-off final.
Leeds were left scrapping it out in the play-offs after finishing third in their first season back in the Championship despite finishing on 90 points as Leicester City and Ipswich Town sealed automatic promotion.
Twelve months on, Leeds don’t need to worry about the play-offs this time around having made amends for last year’s heartache in the ultimate style by going up as champions with 100 points as part of a season which has seen Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton all go back down.
United’s title triumph was a remarkably impressive response to their play-off final defeat and here we run through 12 particularly key games in their march towards promotion as Championship champions including big changes to the previous year.
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1. August: Sheffield Wednesday 0 Leeds United 2.
Having paid the price for starting slowly in the 2023-24 campaign, a strong beginning was very much required second time around. After a crazy opening day 3-3 draw at home to Portsmouth and another draw at West Brom, Leeds hit lift off as goals from Brenden Aaronson and Dan James, above, sealed a 2-0 win in the Friday night Yorkshire derby at Sheffield Wednesday. | Danny Lawson/PA Wire
2. October: Leeds United 2 Sheffield United 0.
Leeds hosted the Blades on the back of a 2-2 draw at Sunderland in which an Illan Meslier howler cost the Whites all three points. The Sheffield Unitec contest also arrived just one month on from a 1-0 defeat at home to Burnley. But Leeds dazzled against the Blades as goals from Pascal Struijk, above and Mateo Joseph sealed another Friday night success. | Getty Images
3. November: Swansea City 3 Leeds United 4.
A crazy seven-goal thriller, but one that Leeds took all three points from as Willy Gnonto, above, bagged a 91st-minute winner, just after Swansea appeared to have salvaged a draw. | Nick Potts/PA Wire
4. December: Stoke City 0 Leeds United 2.
A dreadful Festive period cost Leeds dear in the 2023-24 campaign and the question this time around was could they do it on a very misty Boxing Day night in Stoke? Amid atrocious visibility, a Joel Piroe brace ensured the Whites emerged from the Potteries mist with a 2-0 success. Just two days after their Boxing Day win at Stoke, Leeds headed to Derby for another potential Festive banana skin but Brenden Aaronson bagged the only goal of the game to ensure a perfect Christmas return. | Barrington Coombs/PA Wire
5. January: Burnley 0 Leeds United 0.
A stinking game which felt like must not lose and was very much played like that. Pretty obvious when you now look at the final table how important that draw was. | Getty Images
6. February: Leeds United 7 Cardiff City 0.
Just five days after the Monday night draw at Burnley, Leeds hosted Cardiff and absolutely walloped the Bluebirds 7-0 for another key result as part of a title ultimately sealed on goal difference. | Getty Images