Leeds Utd 0 Manchester United 1
Manchester United took over at the top of the Premier League despite an unconvincing display which hardly merited such reward.
Captain Roy Keane's second goal of the season in the 81st minute broke Leeds' brave resistance in a game in which they produced their best defensive performance this campaign.
For former Leeds star Rio Ferdinand, the victory was a sweet one, even though Elland Road was not as hostile as he had perhaps been anticipating, with the taunts, boos and jeers fully expected without being over-venomous.
West Yorkshire Police certainly did their job ahead of the game for no Leeds fan could get within 50 yards of the Manchester United team coach upon its arrival.
Although Ferdinand had dominated recent headlines in the wake of his failure to attend a routine drugs test last month, and his subsequent omission from the England squad for last Saturday's European Championship qualifier against Turkey, the sting had been drawn.
In many respects it was reflected on the pitch for the opening half was a relatively tame affair, with Sir Alex Ferguson's side in control in terms of possession, however, lacking the invention to break down a dogged Leeds.
They were without Ryan Giggs through illness, which led to Cristiano Ronaldo back in the starting line-up, with the Portuguese star just as much a figure of hate for the Whites fans as Ferdinand.
When he fell in the penalty area for the second time in nine minutes while under challenge from Gary Kelly, referee Graham Poll had had enough and booked the winger.
It was Ronaldo, though, who provided the one quality cross of the half shortly before the break, whipping in a piercing free-kick after he had been shoulder-barged off the ball by a tenacious David Batty, who earned a card for his over-exuberance.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, whose only other prior chance had been an awful attempted lob over Paul Robinson, headed narrowly wide as for the first time in the game the Whites defence was caught ball watching. Reid, though, had opted to keep faith with the back four which had performed so admirably against Blackburn, and they rewarded him again with another commendable display, particularly with Batty mopping up in front.
Robinson was still the busier of the two keepers - with Tim Howard untroubled throughout the 90 minutes - although first-half drives from Keane and Paul Scholes were straight at the England international. It was Scholes, playing just behind van Nistelrooy, who linked up with the Dutchman five minutes after the interval before rifling in a powerful 20-yarder which Robinson could only parry at first before skipper Dominic Matteo hacked clear.
At least Leeds showed more purpose in attack in the opening second-half exchanges, but their best effort was restricted to a sliced shot from Jermaine Pennant, playing his last game of a two-month loan from Arsenal, but with hopes high of an extension.
The one time van Nistelrooy did get round the back of the Leeds rearguard, he again failed with the lob, this time from an acute angle as it lacked height. Ronaldo clipped the top of the angle of bar and post with a dipping, swerving, 25-yard right-foot cracker, while Diego Forlan - a 60th minute substitute for last week's Scotland hero Darren Fletcher - cracked a firm drive over the woodwork.
It appeared as though Leeds would hold out for a deserved point, but then nine minutes from time, Keane powered a header beyond Robinson from a Gary Neville cross after van Nistelrooy had been dispossessed by substitute Lamine Sakho.
United could have added a second in the closing stages, but Olembe cleared a van Nistelrooy free-kick off the line, while Scholes thundered a close-range drive off the underside of the bar.