As far as returns to your former club go, this was one even Daniel Farke couldn’t have possibly dreamed of. For long periods, though, his homecoming threatened to become a nightmare.
Back at the club he delivered two Championships at for the first time, his side fell victim to a Gabriel Sara masterclass in the first half to fall 2-0 behind.
But a Shane Duffy own-goal and a brilliant brace from Crycensio Summerville salvaged what looked to be an unlikely three points for Leeds for the Whites to spare Farke’s blushes.
If he had been hoping for a quiet return, this game packed full of drama, chances and goals soon put pay to it.
At times during the first half, in particular, it felt more as though you were sat in Las Vegas watching two heavyweights go blow for blow in the final round than watching a game of Championship football on a dreary Saturday in October.
It was the hosts who landed the first blow when Gabriel Sara’s corner was met by a thumping near post header from Canaries defender Shane Duffy in the fourth minute.
The visitors were undeterred by the early setback, though.
When Daniel James allowed the ball to roll across his body in the centre of the pitch before threading through striker Joel Piroe, a sixth goal of the season for the Dutchman looked to be the only outcome. Piroe, uncharacteristically, snatched at the opportunity and fired wide.
James should have tested substitute goalkeeper George Long, introduced for the injured Angus Gunn with less than half an hour played, after racing through from the halfway line.
He poked the ball past Duffy, leaving the Irish defender on his backside, but fired well over as he bared down on goal.
The game always had another goal in it before the break and it was a clinical front-to-back move that doubled Norwich’s advantage.
Kenny McLean picked up the ball deep into his own half before spraying an inch-perfect pass out to Onel Hernandez on the right, who took the ball in his stride before laying on Sara.
With a sea of white shirts around him, the chance looked to have gone. Yet Sara found a gap that no one else in Carrow Road saw and used a bit of Brazilian magic to wriggle his way through past five Leeds defenders and fire home with his left foot.
Losing at this ground in the Championship isn’t something Farke is used to – the German only lost 14 of his 69 matches here as manager.
But even with a dazzling array of talent to pick from on the bench – including Patrick Bamford and Wilfried Gnonto – it looked a long way back for Leeds.
The opening stages of the second half suggested the game was in danger of meandering to a rather uneventful ending. It took until the 62nd minute for Leeds to kick back into life, as James knocked the ball past Dimitris Giannoulis to reach the byline.
With no team-mate available in the box and James careering towards the pitchside barrier, all the former Manchester United man could do was knock the ball back across goal.
James was still on the wrong side of the barrier, legs akimbo, when Duffy went from hero to zero by inadvertently sending the ball past Long and into his own goal.
The goal transformed the visitors. Where they were wasteful in the first half, they were clinical in the second.
Summerville was a constant thorn in Norwich’s side and finished brilliantly from the edge of the box when the hosts were caught sleeping by a Leeds short corner. Moments later, he sealed a dramatic win with a fine solo effort.
Running from his own half, Summerville showed more heart and determination than any man in yellow and green to force his way towards the edge of the box, where he calmly curled the ball past Long.
There were no fist bumps from Farke towards the Leeds faithful at full-time. Instead, he handed out a respectful round of applause to all four sides of the ground.
The German may play it down, but that win will have been sweeter than most.
