Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier's £15million summer Senegalese gamble paid handsome dividends as the Reds maintained their unbeaten Premier League record to temporarily take over at English football's summit.

El Hadji Diouf and Salif Diao, £10million and £5million respectively, combined in the 65th minute to provide the only goal of this Elland Road showdown which failed to live up to its high-noon billing.

But it was enough to hand Leeds their third defeat in four league matches, leaving Leeds fans so frustrated that at one point they even chanted the name of former manager David O'Leary.

Current Leeds boss Terry Venables' side have now taken just one point from those four games to leave them already 11 behind Liverpool at this early stage of a campaign which is beginning to look like it could be a long one for the former England manager.

Yet Leeds should have taken at least a point as they wasted chances. Liverpool dominated for lengthy spells in the first half as the Whites looked disjointed in midfield, leaving Alan Smith and Harry Kewell virtually isolated up front.

It took a moment of inspiration from Smith midway through the opening 45 minutes to alter the momentum.

Smith, sent off for the seventh time in his controversial career on Wednesday for two bookable offences in England's dismal 2-2 draw against Macedonia, superbly chest-trapped a through ball before jinking his way past three players to work an opening.

His driven 20-yard shot deflected off Liverpool captain Sami Hyypia and for a split second Leeds fans thought the ball had crept inside goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek's left-hand post, however it had struck the pole behind the goal before rippling its way along the back of the net.

Leeds captain Danny Mills, taking over the skipper's armband from injured former Liverpool defender Dominic Matteo, then combined with Reds summer target Lee Bowyer soon after.

Bowyer, whose £9million move to Anfield collapsed due to personal terms, whipped in a cross for Kewell to deliver a powerful goal-bound header which Poland international Dudek tipped over the crossbar at full stretch.

Dudek again saved his side 10 minutes from the break as Smith's low right-wing cross into the heart of the six-yard box was touched goalwards by Djimi Traore in an effort to intercept, only for the 29-year-old to show superb reactions and push the ball wide.

A heated exchange then developed on the touchline as Smith was receiving treatment for a tackle from which he failed to even win a foul, leading to strong words from fourth official Jeff Winter as the 21-year-old bemoaned his fate.

Venables stepped out of the dugout to have his say and was followed by first-team coach Brian Kidd, who had to be restrained by his manager as the argument continued, aided by a considerable amount of finger-pointing.

Within a minute Jamie Carragher was booked for a foul on his former Liverpool team-mate Nick Barmby as the game gathered in momentum, with Diouf also cautioned in the final minute for a late tackle on Mills.

In between Dudek was finally beaten, only to be saved by his crossbar as another Kewell header from an Ian Harte left-wing free-kick this time looped into the air and off the woodwork.

Leeds maintained the pressure at the start of the second period and looked the more likely to score until Diao broke the deadlock.

The 25-year-old stole in front of Harte at the near post to steer a Diouf cross - one which had taken an initial deflection off the debut-making Teddy Lucic - past Paul Robinson for his second Liverpool goal.

That soon prompted the 'O'Leary' chants, but even then Leeds had the opportunity to salvage something from the game.

With five minutes remaining substitute Mark Viduka and Kewell combined. Viduka's cross picked out Kewell in the area and he appeared to have done all the hard work in dragging the ball away from the challenging Hyypia and Dudek.

But with the goal at his mercy Kewell then contrived to fire over the crossbar from 12 yards much to his own personal agony and that of Venables.

In the end a Liverpool team without the injured likes of Steven Gerrard, Emile Heskey, Stephane Henchoz and Abel Xavier, and with Michael Owen not introduced to this game until the 70th minute, was enough to beat a Leeds side on the slide.

Teams:

Leeds: Robinson, Mills, Woodgate, Lucic, Harte, Bowyer, Barmby, McPhail (Dacourt 75), Bakke, Smith (Viduka 56), Kewell.

Subs Not Used: Martyn, Kelly, Duberry.

Booked: Harte.

Liverpool: Dudek, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Riise, Murphy, Hamann, Diao, Cheyrou, Baros (Owen 69), Diouf.

Subs Not Used: Babbel, Smicer, Arphexad, Biscan.

Booked: Carragher, Diouf.

Goals: Diao 66.

Att: 40,187

Ref: S Dunn (Avon).