Leeds United are faring better on several - if not all - fronts and recruitment has played its role

The old adage that the attack wins games and defences win titles, might not be wholly relevant to Leeds United in the context of their Premier League status, but the ethos remains true.

The hardest thing to do in football is score goals and inevitably the ability to do so comes and goes in waves. Attacks are to be cherished but not relied upon. It’s a different story for defences.

In order to achieve any objective, the back line has to be sturdy. Scoring three goals means little if your team concedes four. And with Leeds only in their second Premier League season after promotion, this season and next is all about stability.

“The first steps at the Premier League level were to strengthen the defence, to strengthen the physicality, to strengthen our defensive behaviour overall,” said Daniel Farke last month.

“We are excellent in these terms. We didn’t have, perhaps, the signature signings in the offence. It’s a fact, but it’s like a house you build step by step. You don’t start with the roof.”

Using the analogy of home building, right now the roof is perhaps a tarpaulin canopy rather than a slate-tiled cover; it does the job needed but nobody is showing it off to the neighbours.

Saturday’s 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur changed the mood around the fanbase and the squad. It was notable that several players mentioned that they can go into the international break in a good mood.

Victory over in-form Tottenham Hotspur was not likely but it was important - a defeat would have allowed the angst to fester after five previous winless games.

Ultimately, all that counts is three points, no matter how they come. But the 1-0 scoreline perhaps says more about the defence - the foundations of the building - than the winning goal.

Leeds have kept four clean sheets in their 10 Premier League games - only Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion, the current top two, have more (seven).

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Introspectively, the 12-month improvement in defence can be seen in the comparison of Leeds’ metrics from this point last year. They had kept two clean sheets after 10 games last term.

More starkly, they had conceded 17 goals; five of them coming against Arsenal. This year, they have shipped just eight, and only two versus the champions. The goal difference is 10 better too, currently standing at +2.

Over £80million was splashed on the defence this summer; James Trafford (a club record £40m), Tarik Muharemovic (£34m) and Nico Elvedi (circa £8m). And of course, just under £1m was shipped out for the loan acquisition of Melvin Bard - whose deal contains a £4.7m buy-out clause.

Leeds invested a lot and are reaping the rewards for that. At the same time, the lack of investment in the attack is also bearing its results. Just £18m has been spent on the forward line since promotion - all on Noah Okafor.

Dominic Calert-Lewin, Lukas Nmecha and Harry Wilson were all free and Jean-Matteo Bahoya was a loanee amid a £21.4m potential obligation clause upon a set agreed number of appearances.

By this point last season, Leeds had scored nine goals - this year, they have 10; a difference of one.

At the same time, ninth-positioned United are three points and seven places better off in the table thanks to that 10th goal, which came from Okafor on Saturday.

And Leeds have had a tougher first 10 games this time around, when looking at where their opponents finished the prior season. Last year, the average position of the opposition was 11.7 - this time, it has been 9.4.

Obviously, there are caveats to this; not least in terms of the context of the time. For instance, the draw against Manchester United - who finished third last season - now looks poor and Bournemouth were the most in-form team when played on Halloween.

Leeds have played four of the current bottom five, too, and only won once. So there is a wider picture, which is also the case in attack.

Leeds beat Spurs by a goal but were wasteful. Just four of 16 shots were on target. But at least better quality chances were created, United finishing the game with an xG of 2.02.

Clearly, there are still improvements to be made. But the summer transfer focus on the defence is currently bearing fruit and is the main reason why Leeds can count the first quarter of the campaign as a success.