When you lose 3-0 it is often tempting to start the autopsy by looking for errors at the back, but head coach Valerien Ismael admitted there were problems all over the pitch at Elland Road.

Watford were pinned back from the very start, Leeds had 10 on-target goal attempts and the stats showed keeper Daniel Bachmann made seven saves.

Meanwhile, at the other end, the Hornets didn’t register an on-target effort of their own until the fourth minute of stoppage time.

“I think it was not only the defenders, it was the way we played as a whole,” said Ismael.

“We didn’t press well in the first half. The second half was much better and we pressed which makes it easier for our defenders.

“But we didn’t keep the ball up front, we lost the ball too easily, and when we won the ball we didn’t have the normal composure to play.

“We were missing our quality. But due credit to our opponents today. They forced us to make mistakes, they forced us to defend more.”

The local Leeds media were pleasantly surprised with the way the Watford boss honestly assessed the game.

“When I see an opponent that is much better then I will say so. They were much better than us,” he said.

“They didn’t make mistakes and they were clinical in the second half.

“We have to learn from the game. We wanted to play well, we wanted to come away with something but in the first half they put us massively under pressure.

“You have to accept that happens, but at least we need to create chances. This season we have always created chances, but in the first half we didn’t have one shot at their goal.

“Too many things happened for the first time today. I’m not worried about that, I just felt the players didn’t cope well with the pressure from the opponents.

“If you look at the first half they should already have been leading 2-0.

“When we did concede the first goal, it didn’t even come during Leeds’ best spell of the game.

“The final result reflected the game.”