Leeds storm Anderlecht fortress

Anderlecht 1 Leeds United 4

David O'Leary's Leeds have made a habit of defying the odds in Europe, but they excelled themselves on a heady night in Brussels to clinch an unlikely quarter-final place.

Having got the better of Barcelona and Milan in an opening group they had no right to survive, they have now pulled off two of the best away results in the club ' s history.

It keeps O'Leary's astonishing campaign alive, even though they were given little hope when the formidable Group D was drawn.

Winning 1-0 at Lazio was something in itself, a victory that hastened Sven Goran Eriksson's departure from Rome to England and made their rivals sit up. But the fashion in which Leeds wrecked the best home record in Europe was even more impressive.

The strikers, who have been seriously misfiring in the Premiership, hit the kind of rich seam that few defences could cope with and Anderlecht - for all their 17 straight wins at home this season - were certainly not up to dealing with Alan Smith and Mark Viduka.

England Under 21 striker Smith, unable to command a place in the domestic starting line-up since the arrival on loan of £12million target Robbie Keane, was electric and his first two goals in 15 games were a powerful tribute to his never-say-die attitude.

Australian partner Viduka contributed much more than his first goal in 10 matches after shrugging off the flak that has been hurled his way by a small section of Elland Road's demanding fans.

No wonder the 1,300 who travelled to Brussels insisted on the players coming back out to celebrate with them - just as they had that December night in Rome.

Amid a carnival atmosphere, the supporters also saluted chairman Peter Ridsdale and demanded a song from outstanding midfielder David Batty.

Not only had they witnessed yet another glorious night in O'Leary's remarkable passage through Europe's most dangerous waters, they had seen Leeds sail away with a superb win where even Manchester United had come to grief.

Anderlecht had rubbished Leeds' 2-1 triumph at Elland Road a week earlier but the perceived lack of respect from coach Aime Anthuenis was a compelling stimulant to the Leeds players.

Merely avoiding defeat in Belgium would have hauled Leeds to the brink of a place in the last eight, but by the 13th minute it was clear they were in the mood to emphasise Olivier Dacourt's pre-match warning that Anthuenis had seen nothing yet.

It was a simple enough goal that silenced the Belgian crowd and severely dented Anderlecht's aura of home invincibility, but when Viduka held up the ball before delivering the perfect cross for Smith to sidefoot beyond goalkeeper Zvonko Milojevic, it transpired to be more a statement of intent. Leeds could have shut up shop there and then but that is an alien concept to O'Leary. He had Harry Kewell on the bench desperate to make an impact but his teammates had no need of his sublime skills this time around.

Instead, Leeds set about tightening their grip on a game already slipping beyond Anderlecht, but even their own ebullient fans hardly dared hope for the two goals in three minutes before half-time that ended any chance of a Belgian recovery.

Viduka, suddenly displaying the confidence that under-pinned his four-goal haul against Liverpool in November, looked a finisher supreme as he directed a soaring far-post header from Dominic Matteo's centre beyond Milojevic.

Smith, who plays with enough devil to antagonise fans and rivals alike, wore his impish grin like a badge of honour after Dacourt and Batty engineered the third goal for him to despatch, milking the moment with his team-mates while O'Leary jigged on the touch-line.

The second half could have been an anti-climax but Jan Koller's 76th-minute headed goal sparked a mini-revival - and a brilliant mid-air save by Nigel Martyn from the Czech striker - before Ian Harte completed an extraordinary night with an 81st-minute penalty after Viduka was felled.

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