Coventry City 0 - 2 Leeds United

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Leeds beat Coventry to go five points clear at top



Rampant Leeds United stretched their lead at the top of the Championship to five points as they outplayed Coventry City.

Frank Lampard's hosts had won their previous four games - and another victory would have lifted the 11th-placed Sky Blues level on points with West Brom in the last of the play-off places.

But they were no match for a Leeds side who would have won by more but for wasteful finishing as Daniel Farke's men stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to 14 games.

As it was, both Leeds' goals came directly from Coventry errors - the first scored by 13-goal leading marksman Joel Piroe and the second by Jayden Bogle, once one of Lampard's players at Derby.

Leeds have now lost just three of their last 22 league games against Coventry - but the two most recent had both been at the CBS Arena, notably last April when a 2-1 defeat went a long way to costing the Whites promotion.

This time around the visitors dominated the opening 10 minutes, yet it was Coventry who served up the first meaningful effort when Jack Rudoni's powerful left-foot shot was held by Illan Meslier moving to his left.

On 17 minutes, a deserved Leeds opener duly arrived.

Coventry were clumsy clearing their lines from goalkeeper Oliver Dovin's kick, Ellis Simms lost the ball, Manor Solomon played in Piroe down the inside-left channel and there was little doubt about where it would end up as the visitors' top scorer almost mechanically drilled into the bottom right corner.

It was then 2-0 when full-back Bogle - part of Lampard's team in his first managerial role at Derby - was allowed to weave his way from out near the right touchline into the Coventry area, with only Dovin in his way. But the home keeper came up with a howler, meekly patting the back into his path - and Bogle strode on to tuck away his fourth goal of the season.

There could have been another before the break but Wales winger Dan James did not make the best of an overlap down the right.

James then shot wide at the start of the second half and Leeds might also have had a penalty when Joel Latibeaudiere appeared to take Brenden Aaronson's legs.

Meslier made a key early second-half save to superbly claw out a Simms header - and another in the last minute to defy Bobby Thomas.

But Leeds had a string of opportunities at the other end, coming closest when Piroe collected Solomon's low cross from the left, but fired lazily straight at Dovin.

Coventry had been unbeaten at home in the Championship under Lampard in six matches, the longest unbeaten start at home in the league by any manager at the club since the great Jimmy Hill kicked off with seven in 1961-62.

Leeds had put seven goals past Cardiff at the weekend - but Coventry at least avoided any repeat of that and their improvement over the final 30 minutes owed much to the second-half arrival of new signing Matt Grimes on his Sky Blues debut.

But Leeds have now kept four clean sheets in their last five away league matches, 19 in total this season - and moved clear of Burnley and Sheffield United in top spot.

Coventry City boss Frank Lampard told BBC CWR:

"We're not used to losing at the minute, so we have to respond and make sure it doesn't have an effect on all our positive momentum.

"Does it change our attitude to what we need to do over the next 15 games? No. There's some things we didn't do brilliantly but we have to accept that nights like this can come. And you just have to learn from them.

"We've played the best team in this league and they've beaten us. When you play a team like Leeds, you just feel you're up against players used to a higher level.

"We had Matty Grimes come on and show his quality over the final half hour. And we still have Ephron Mason-Clark and Haji Wright almost ready to return.