Pascal Struijk scores for Leeds United against Sheffield UnitedRex Features

Pascal Struijk's goal was his first since the opening day of the season

Brent Pilnick
BBC Sport England

Leeds United moved up to second in the Championship with a deserved 2-0 win over Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United at Elland Road.

Both sides paid tribute to former Blades defender George Baldock before the match after his death at the age of 31 last week.

Largie Ramazani and Brenden Aaronson had good chances for Leeds in a goalless first half that the hosts had dominated.

Daniel Farke's men continued to have the upper hand after the break and were rewarded when Pascal Struijk blasted in from a 69th-minute corner as the Blades conceded for the first time in more than 11 hours.

Substitute Mateo Joseph sealed the derby success with a 90th-minute second goal as he finished well from Joel Piroe's pass.

The victory meant Leeds leapfrogged the Blades on goal difference with both sides having 19 points as Chris Wilder's men lost for the first time in the league this season.

Sunderland lead the table on goals scored before their trip to Hull City on Sunday.

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Mateo Joseph's late second goal delighted a packed out Elland Road

Unbeaten in 15 previous derbies against Yorkshire sides, Leeds had the better of a tight first quarter as Junior Firpo looked dangerous down the left, while Sheffield United threatened with long balls over the top.

Ramazani had the first effort of note after 25 minutes as the Belgian attacker struck the outside of the post from a tight angle after a good run from midfield by Joe Rothwell.

Two minutes later, he forced Michael Cooper into a full-length low save from the edge of the box as the hosts began to assert their control on the game as their high full-backs pinned the visitors back.

Aaronson twice went close in the final five minutes of the half - first with a deflected effort after a poor Cooper clearance and then firing over from a Firpo cross.

The American midfielder fired over five minutes after the break as Leeds continued to press forward and it took 20 minutes for the visitors to finally have any second-half efforts, although none were on target.

First Harrison Burrows had a shot blocked by Joe Rodon after the Welsh defender's mistake offered a chance for the Blades, and less than two minutes later Rodon deflected Oliver Arblaster's goalbound strike wide from 20 yards.

But Leeds eventually broke the deadlock when defender Struijk got across his marker and blasted in Rothwell's corner with an expertly-controlled left-footed effort as Wilder's side conceded for the first time after six successive clean sheets.

It was also a first set-piece goal for the Whites in 21 games, a run dating back to February.

The win was confirmed when Joseph latched on to Piroe's perfectly-weighted through-ball and showed great strength to hold off Sydie Peck and slot past Cooper for his second league goal this term.

'A really mature performance' - reaction

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke told BBC Radio Leeds:

"They were an unbeaten side so far in this league, six clean sheets in a row.

"Chris Wilder's sides are always well-structured, difficult to create chances against, they're competitive, they're aggressive.

"So it was important to find a good blend out of being brave, because we wanted to create chances, to score goals, but also to have a good structure behind the ball to control all their counter-attacks.

"It's what we did, we had a good balance of being brave but also of being smart, and for that it was a really mature performance from the first to the last second."

Leeds United manager claims bravery and intellect led his side to beat Sheffield United.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield:

"We got done by the better side - they were better in all departments from the off.

"They won more first balls, dropped on second balls, were sharper to everything and are by far and away the best team that we've played all season.

"They've got quality right the way through and they've done that to other teams as well this season.

"We're disappointed with our performance - the spotlight will go on why did we change it? It would have been quite easy for me not to change it, but we felt this was the best opportunity of getting a result here."

Baldock remembered in emotional tribute

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A minute's applause was held before kick off to remember George Baldock

There was an emotional tribute to Baldock before the game after the former Sheffield United and Greece defender's death at the age of 31 last week.

He played 219 times for the Blades in a seven-year spell that ended in the summer, having joined the club in 2017 from Milton Keynes Dons.

Baldock helped United win promotion to the Premier League in 2019 and again in 2023 before joining Panathinaikos in the summer.

He won 12 caps for Greece - eligible to play through his Greek grandmother - and a favourite with team-mates and supporters for both club and country.

"Everybody admired how he went about his business, how his career went from where it did to being an international footballer, and just his general personality around the place, that we all got to know and love," said Blades manager Wilder in the build-up to the Elland Road encounter.

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Sheffield United's players remember their former team-mate during the minute's applause at Elland Road

Rex Features

Injured Leeds United captain Ethan Ampadu - a former Sheffield United team-mate of Baldock's - laid a floral tribute in his memory

Rex Features

Sheffield United's supporters paid tribute to their former player

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