There was no meltdown at Elland Road this afternoon, none of the kind of recent angst which had raised fears that Leeds are falling apart again.
For once, Marcelo Bielsa's side managed to eke out a win without threatening to send their increasingly anxious fanbase over the edge.
On a potentially fraught afternoon which saw a capricious wind make conditions difficult, Leeds actually won comfortably, despite the scoreline.
They had 21 shots and enjoyed 69 per cent possession and looked like their old selves again.
Victory, courtesy of a first-half strike by former Bristol City defender Luke Ayling, sent them three points clear of third-placed Fulham.
After their recent alarming wobble, it is game on again.
Leeds went into this game with questions raining down on Bielsa, under-fire goalkeeper Kiko Casilla and erratic striker Patrick Bamford.
After just two wins in their previous 11 games, that was with good reason. It might be a slight exaggeration to see Leeds is a city on the edge right now - but it would not be too far wide of the mark.
They are simply desperate to return to the Premier League after a 16-year absence and the consequences of failure hardy bear thinking about.
Bielsa would surely go and a clutch of their best players led by homegrown midfielder Kalvin Phillips would also jump ship.
It would be back to square one again for a club that continues to intrigue far and wide.
Nervous tension dripped from every corner of another packed house before kick-off. Bielsa has grown increasingly tetchy in press conferences, Casilla has made a handful of costly errors and Bamford has struggled badly in front of goal.
Yet from the moment Casilla's name was sung by the Kop end, and the Spaniard returned the crowd's generous applause, Leeds seemed destined to prevail.
They enjoyed a staggering 75 per cent possession during the first half but had only Ayling's strike to show for it, while they were no less dominant after the break.
There was no hiding place at Elland Road, which drew the biggest crowd of the day in English football - 35,819.
Not that Bielsa's troops suggested they were looking. With Phillips expertly patrolling the midfield of the park, Leeds quickly set about forcing the opening goal.
They forced two corners inside the opening two minutes, the second of which captain Liam Cooper headed just wide.
Moments later, Pablo Hernandez found Helder Costa who fired straight into Daniel Bentley's midriff.
A Leeds goal appeared inevitable and it duly arrived in the 16th minute. Stuart Dallas and Mateusz Klich had low strikes blocked inside Bristol's penalty area before the ball ran loose to Ayling, who lashed home a low left-foot shot from eight yards out.
Ayling celebrated with a clenched-fist salute to the crowd. The true value of Ayling's winner will not be known for another few weeks, of course.
But those Leeds fans with half-full glasses were putting it somewhere around the £170million mark - the price of promotion to the promised land.
Three minutes later, Dallas had an effort tipped onto the crossbar by Bentley and Bamford thumped home the rebound, only for an offside flag to deny him a much-needed goal.
Leeds continued to dominate possession and territory, with statistics showing they had 13 attempts before their visitors had even had one.
The second half continued with a familiar theme - Leeds controlling possession but failing to make it pay.
In the 63rd minute, Jack Harrison's deep cross narrowly evaded Helder Costa at the far post. Costa then played in Bamford, whose deflected shot was cleared by the visitors.
The increasingly prominent Costa then went even closer in the 71st minute when he burst clear and rounded Bentley, only for the Robins stopper to expertly smother his effort.
With ten minutes remaining, Nahki Wells lobbed an effort onto the roof of Casilla's net. It was a warning to Leeds, but four minutes later Harrison found space inside the visitors' penalty box and smashed a shot against the underside of the crossbar.
In added time, Leeds substitute Jean-Kevin Augustin hit a low shot into the side netting before the final whistle sounded, much to the delight of the home crowd.
News of Fulham's shock home defeat to Barnsley then flashed up on Elland Road's big screen. Cue another almighty roar. For Leeds, united again, this could finally be their year.
