Leeds kept tabs on the Championship's top two by outgunning 10-man Middlesbrough in an end-to-end thriller to register a seventh successive Elland Road victory.
Headers from Leeds pair Daniel James and Crysencio Summerville - the two shortest players on the pitch - eclipsed Emmanuel Latte Lath's rifled opener for Boro, all inside the opening seven minutes.
Joel Piroe's penalty, conceded by Boro substitute Matt Clarke within a minute of his introduction, put the hosts in command but Latte Lath's header gave the visitors a lifeline just before half-time.
Anfernee Dijksteel's dismissal for a second bookable offence hindered Boro's hopes of a fightback although they almost rescued a point when substitute Samuel Silvera's deflected strike hit the post.