Leeds United’s first-half performance blew away a very poor Plymouth Argyle side as the Elland Road outfit’s great form continued.
Dan James, Joel Piroe and Brenden Aaronson all scored between 30 and 38 minutes to put the game out of sight before the interval.
Leeds took their foot off the gas in the second-half as Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth failed to come up with any answers after such a tepid first-half display.
Goal-scorer Piroe was hailed by former Leeds boss Neil Redfearn live on BBC Radio Leeds as the Dutchman proved his doubters wrong with a fifth goal of the league campaign.
But it was the unsung midfield pair of Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka who also caught the eye of Redfearn after a scintillating first-half.
Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka impress for Leeds
Speaking live on BBC Radio Leeds, Redfearn was impressed with Rothwell and Tanaka’s simplicity in midfield.
He said: “Just the range of passing, you know, the knowledge of the role, how they drop into little pockets to receive it. It’s just simple things they are doing really, really well.”
Tanaka and Rothwell saw plenty of the ball as Plymouth failed to string more than two passes together all match.
The duo were particularly influential in the first-half when Argyle dropped into a low block and let the Leeds midfield dictate high up the pitch.
Plymouth weren’t good enough to hold out defensively and Leeds, with Tanaka and Rothwell at the centre of it all, picked the visitors apart.
One stat sums up Ao Tanaka’s Leeds display
Tanaka was outstanding and was handed an 8.2 FotMob match rating for the game, higher than any other player on the park at Elland Road.
He tested Daniel Grimshaw from distance as part of his three efforts on goal while completing 91% of his passes across the clash.
The Japanese midfielder also won 5/6 of his ground duels and proved just how dependable he really is for Daniel Farke’s men.
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