Leeds United all but confirmed Premier League survival as they eased to a 3-1 win over relegated and manager-less Burnley to move nine points clear of the bottom three.
Daniel Farke’s men put to bed the disappointment of losing last week’s FA Cup semi-final to bed in emphatic fashion, with Anton Stach’s stunning eighth-minute strike setting them on their way to a dominant victory.
Noah Okafor rounded off a brilliant team move in the 52nd minute as Leeds took command, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin then sent Elland Road into party mode as he made it 3-0.
Loum Tchaouna pulled one back from Burnley, but it eventually proved to be nothing more than a consolation for the Clarets at the end of a week that saw manager Scott Parker leave his post.
Leeds can still mathematically be relegated, but that would require Tottenham winning at least three of their final four league games, the next of which is a difficult trip to Champions League-chasing Aston Villa on Sunday.
Even if Tottenham manage to pull off an upset at Villa Park, Leeds can secure their survival a week on Monday when they face Spurs in North London.
Leeds take huge step towards safety
Leeds made an excellent start and their first shot produced a stunning opener as Stach caught Martin Dubravka off guard with an unerring long-range drive into the bottom-right corner.
Stach then curled a free-kick over the bar but, for all their dominance, clear-cut chances were few and far between following the opener.
But Leeds were clinical when a sloppy pass from Burnley presented them with the opportunity to break seven minutes into the second half.
Calvert-Lewin looked to have run down a blind alley down the right flank with two Burnley players surrounding him, but he picked Jayden Bogle with a brilliant backheel, and the right-back’s subsequent cross found Okafor at the far post to volley home.
Four minutes later Calvert-Lewin put the game beyond doubt, reacting quickest to bundle home from point-blank range after Dubravka could only parry from Ao Tanaka’s effort from outside the box.
Lucas Pires looked to have pulled one back for Burnley when he turned in on the rebound from Bashir Humphreys’ low effort, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside.
But moments later Tchaouna lashed beyond Darlow having been picked out by Jaidon Anthony to narrow the deficit.
At that point Burnley had 20 minutes of normal time to mount a comeback, but it never looked like materialising as Leeds saw out a vital win with little difficulty.
