When the dust settles on this most compelling of Championship seasons, these may well turn out to be the days and the moments which could make all the difference for Leeds.

You can feel the trepidation and tension every time you set foot inside Elland Road, given how the Whites compiled 90 points last year and still failed to secure promotion to the Premier League. The desperation to avoid something similar again this season is almost palpable and every time there is even the briefest of missteps, it is not difficult for Leeds supporters to fear the worst.

Which makes this a potentially seismic moment in their season. With two minutes to go here, a thoroughly entertaining Yorkshire derby was firmly in the balance. Leeds had taken an early lead with Manor Solomon’s strike but unlike most teams that come to Elland Road, Sheffield Wednesday did not sit back at any stage. It is a sign of how far Danny Röhl’s side have come that they had their hosts worried on multiple occasions.

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It could have gone either way. But in the end, the quality of Daniel Farke’s team – and in particular his bench – arguably proved decisive. Leeds are blessed with undoubtedly the Championship’s best squad and the substitute Largie Ramazani’s strike with two minutes to go settled the nerves, before Ao Tanaka’s smart finish in stoppage time made it three to send them back to the Championship summit.

There will be twists and turns to come: this is the Championship, after all. But on a weekend when Burnley – who Leeds visit in a week’s time – and Sunderland both dropped points against one another, it felt like an afternoon where Farke’s men had to take advantage and show they are the worthy frontrunners in this four-horse race for automatic promotion. They duly delivered.

“There’s no doubting it’s a well-deserved win,” Farke said. “I was pleased we were so switched on. It was a relief to score the late goals but overall, against a good opponent who were brave and went for it, it was a pretty convincing win and pretty perfect.”

His side made the perfect start when Joe Rothwell’s wonderful through ball could only be palmed away by James Beadle, directly in the path of Solomon, who finished expertly to break the deadlock after just three minutes. But Wednesday, to their credit, responded superbly and cut Leeds open on numerous occasions throughout an engrossing first half.

With both teams playing open, attacking football, Josh Windass was put through on goal by Shea Charles – who is set to be recalled by Southampton this week – before an outstanding last-ditch tackle from Ethan Ampadu denied the forward a chance to shoot. Charles then twice rifled narrowly past Illan Meslier’s far post, before Beadle denied Dan James with a smart stop as half-time approached.

Wednesday were in a battle to avoid relegation this time last year, but despite the undoubted progression they have made under Röhl, uncertainty never appears far away. Their travelling support here protested against the ownership of Dejphon Chansiri, who was in attendance here, while Charles’ recall is a bitter blow for Röhl, who will meet Chansiri this week to discuss transfer plans.

He will hope to be given the ammunition to bridge the gap to the playoffs. “It’s not fair to compare us with Leeds: today we’ve faced a team worth £180m,” Röhl said post-match. The 35-year-old pointed to his opponents’ bench as the difference and insisted Wednesday faced the Championship’s best team here: it is difficult to argue on both counts.

Wednesday continued to press for an equaliser throughout the second half but you felt their best chances came in that opening 45 minutes. And as Farke rotated his deck and introduced the likes of Willy Gnonto, Mateo Joseph and Ramazani, you wondered if that would decisively swing things Leeds’ way. That proved to be the case in emphatic fashion.

First, Ramazani’s wonderful strike beat Beadle to double Leeds’ advantage before the outstanding Tanaka’s back-heel wrong-footed Beadle and secured victory. Farke has put his side in a position for promotion once again: this time, everyone of a Leeds persuasion will hope there is enough to get over the line. The evidence here suggests there might well be.