IMPERIOUS Leeds United are threatening to stretch away from the rest of the Championship field as they cantered to a 4-0 win at Watford.

That took their unbeaten run to 14 league games as they moved on to 69 points with 14 games remaining and a whopping goal difference of 47.

The next games against chasers Sunderland and Sheffield United could see them reined in but their performance at Vicarage Road was an ominous message to the rest of the division.

Watford, fresh from an impressive performance at Sunderland, were expected to give the Whites a tough game but it was the leaders who showed their class.

Three first-half goals in a 15-minute burst had the job done for Daniel Farke’s men before the interval.

Leeds had already made several incursions into the Hornets’ box before Dan James put the visitors ahead on the 20-minute mark. Edo Kayembe’s blind pass into no man’s land was seized upon by James who drove forward to fire past goalkeeper Egil Selvik.

Eight minutes later the Whites gained possession in their own area and launched a rapid counter attack, Joel Piroe providing the opening for James to smash the ball inside Selvik’s left-hand post.

That took James into double figures for the season and the Welsh international continued to terrorise the Watford defence. The Hornets did have plenty of possession but United’s work off the ball was as good as their forward play as they simply picked the home side off.

Manor Solomon made it 3-0 when he cut inside from the left wing and fired home via a deflection off defender Mattie Pollock.

Piroe added the fourth on 62 minutes with some outstanding footwork in the penalty area which bamboozled the Watford defence before a precise left-foot finish for his 14 Championship goal of the season.

Leeds could have had more as they opened up their opponents at will with their sharp passing and direct running particularly down the flanks.

Watford actually had more possession than Leeds, much of it in their own half, but didn’t carry enough threat to prevent United recording their 20th seasonal shutout.

Tom Cleverely’s side could have had a penalty for handball against Ethan Ampadu with the game scoreless, they forced Illan Meslier into two good saves and almost grabbed a late consolation when Giorgi Chakvetadze hit the bar. But they were just fleeting moments against a Leeds which have kept seven consecutive clean sheets.

Despite the margin of victory Farke was not getting carried away. He said: “I’m not sure the 4-0 reflects the game. It was difficult to take possession away from them.

“We had a really good structure. Excellent on the counter attack and the way we scored the goals. I’m pretty happy with the win and the scoreline and the clean sheet.

“We have a good momentum and a good shape. We have to use it and keep going.

So far so good. We want to keep this momentum and stay awake.”