Leeds United head coach Thomas Christiansen said it was a dream start as he watched his Leeds side kick-off the season with a win at Bolton Wanderers.
Christiansen was taking charge of his first competitive Leeds game since joining the club from Cypriot side APOEL this summer and he watched on as Leeds won on the opening day for the first time since 2013.
Leeds won 3-2 with young midfielder Kalvin Phillips the hero with two-goals and Christiansen admitted it was a result that he had dreamed of.
“I want us to create and score but I don`t like to see us to (concede) the goals we did,” Christiansen told The Yorkshire Evening Post.
“But the opponent had good things about them too and one of them was their strength. They had very tall players and we are not the tallest but my players were strong and when you give everything, at least you can equalise that.
“It was the game I expected – a tough game against a good opponent – and it was a result that I had dreamed of; taking the three points.
“The heart rate went up a little bit!”
Phillips put Leeds ahead inside seven minutes when he fired home following a well-worked corner kick.
Chris Wood started where he left off last season when he doubled the lead for Leeds on the half hour. The striker, who scored 30 goals last season, headed home from close range after good work from Kemar Roofe and Ezgjan Alioski.
Leeds were then dealt a blow when Gaetano Berardi was forced off with a shoulder injury and the home side got back into the game almost immediately when Gary Madine headed home from close range.
Phillips restored Leeds two-goal advantage before the break when he fired home from close range after being teed-up by Wood.
Leeds were dealt another blow in the second half when they lost their second defender of the afternoon. Matthew Pennington suffered an ankle injury and youngster Conor Shaughnessy replaced him.
The young Irish defender came on for his Leeds debut and he was quickly at the centre of attention when he fouled Madine in the penalty area and Adam Le Fondre fired home from the penalty spot.
Leeds looked to restore their two-goal cushion and Pablo Hernandez saw his shot from the edge of the area come back off the crossbar.
Despite cutting the deficit to one-goal, Bolton rarely threatened the Leeds goal and the whites held out for their first opening day win in four-years.
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