Late goals from Dan James and Brenden Aaronson sent Leeds United top of the Championship with victory over Middlesbrough in a fascinating encounter.

Wales winger James fired past Seny Dieng in the 74th minute before Aaronson added a third in injury time to move the Whites two points clear of Sheffield United, who are away to Millwall on Wednesday.

It was an eighth straight win at Elland Road for Daniel Farke's side as they strengthened their bid for automatic promotion back to the Premier League after two seasons away.

Willy Gnonto put the hosts in front early in a first half in which they dominated, only for Max Wober to head into his own net nine minutes after the break.

Ben Doak had a great chance to put Boro ahead before Leeds' late onslaught, as the Teesside club slipped one place to sixth.

Leeds' second attempt at promotion back to the top tier has been founded on rock-solid form at home with 25 points out of a possible 30 this season.

Last season, promoted Leicester City and Ipswich Town both lost in West Yorkshire, while they also claimed Sheffield United's unbeaten start to the season in October.

Leeds had already been on the front foot when they went in front, although Boro would have been disappointed with the manner of the goal.

James' cross was touched by Matt Clarke, with fellow centre-half George Edmundson sliding in front of Mateo Joseph. That was saved by Dieng, but on the floor and under pressure from Gnonto, the Senegal goalkeeper succeeded only in knocking the ball against the Italy winger and watching it roll past him into the net.

For the rest of the half, Leeds remained on the front foot and could have added a second goal as Aaronson shot wastefully over, while a driving run and shot from Gnonto in the last minute of the half forced a smart stop out of Dieng.

For Middlesbrough, two previous seasons under Michael Carrick have seen fourth and eighth-place finishes, and he undoubtedly has another strong Championship squad at his disposal this season.

His side are usually comfortable against the teams at the top end of the table, taking 11 points from the promoted trio last season and four points from Sheffield United and Burnley this term.

But Elland Road has been an unforgiving place of two draws and six defeats in the league since they last won in 2011 and Boro, who had scored 19 goals in their previous six games, struggled to get anything going in attack before the break.

They improved in the second half and after Riley McGree had forced Illan Meslier into his first save, they equalised from Dan Barlaser's resulting corner as Austria defender Wober headed into his own net at the near post.

Suddenly they were much more like themselves and had a great chance to go in front when Hayden Hackney slipped in Doak.

But the on-loan Liverpool winger hesitated, allowing Meslier to rush out and make a fine smothering save.

It was a crucial moment and seven minutes later and having just had an identical chance saved by Dieng, James made no mistake as he buried his finish for his fourth goal of the season.

There was also time for American Aaronson to grab a third in injury time - his first goal for seven matches - after unselfish play from the tireless Ao Tanaka.

With third-placed Burnley dropping two points in their goalless draw with Derby County, Leeds have a three-point cushion over the Clarets and are two clear of second-placed Sheffield United.

The Blades will reclaim top spot if they win at Millwall on Wednesday.

Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke told BBC Radio Leeds:

"I think it was a well deserved win, in the end. But I want to congratulate Middlesbrough on a really good away performance.

"They were positive and that makes our win a bit sweeter because we played against an excellent side.

"It was a really good first half, but the feeling in such a tight game was that we wasted too many chances.

"After such an unlikely equaliser, it is difficult to turn the tide again but that is what we did and many compliments to the players."

Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick:

"I'm disappointed with the result, but the game was right in the balance really, second half.

"In some ways, it was where we wanted it. We had a really good spell and it felt like we could go on and win the game. Obviously we did loads of good things in coming back into the game and had wrestled back control after going a goal down.

"Over the last two games, we've played against players who've played a lot of Premier League football and our lads can take a lot of confidence from how we've gone about it."