Charlton 0 Leeds 2

	Lee Bowyer and Scott Parker collide at the Valley on Sunday (ShaunBotterill/Allsport)

Leeds have taken advantage of the early season malaise shown by Manchester United and Liverpool to slip quietly to the top of the Premiership table, and they have done so courtesy of all the traits and good habits traditionally associated with championship winners.

O ' Leary ' s team take on Portuguese side Maritimo in the UEFA Cup in Madeira on Thursday knowing they are unbeaten in five games this season, having conceded a single goal - and that at Arsenal - and have looked as comfortable away from home as they have at Elland Road.

They have played in London three times - at Arsenal, West Ham and Charlton - and have picked up seven points from those journeys. And they seem not even to have found their full stride yet.

This result was aided by the reckless two-footed lunge Graham Stuart aimed at Ian Harte's ankle to earn a red card late in the first half. But the likelihood is that Leeds would have won even without numerical advantage, such was their superiority.

Charlton manager Alan Curbishley was not so sure, He said: 'I think the attitude of the player who went down possibly affected the decision to send Stuart off.

'I also felt that the referee was very quick to act. He did not take a second to think about it. It changed the whole afternoon for us. Until the sending-off we'd been quite sharp but that changed everything.

'I have told the players that without a couple of pieces of poor defending and without the sendingoff there wouldn't have been much to choose between the teams.'

Robbie Keane, a joyous presence yesterday, scored the first goal as he benefited from Mark Fish's hesitancy to convert Ian Harte's pass with his right foot in the 21st minute. Danny Mills got the second after the interval, silencing the jeers of his former club's supporters by drilling a left-foot drive low past Dean Kiely from 30 yards.

These were the strikes that mattered but Leeds could have scored several more, especially as Charlton tired physically and mentally in the second half.

Keane was off target when released in the box immediately after half-time and was denied one of the season's most memorable goals by an inch as he poked the ball through the legs of Steve Brown only to flash his shot past the upright.

Lee Bowyer nestled an overhead kick into Kiely's arms late in the game and David Batty dragged his ageing frame half the length of the pitch to fire a drive over the bar in the dying seconds. The Leeds fans cheered his audacity and by then it had become that kind of day.

Keane's performance served as an indication of what might be to come from him as he mingled brilliance with wayward finishing.

He might have had a penalty in the first half but instead earned a booking for an alleged dive when challenged by goalkeeper Kiely, a decision that enraged his manager. O'Leary said: 'There is too much cheating these days but I think that was a penalty.'

Charlton will look ahead to further struggles this season as they continue to labour under the influence of a terrible injury list.

The home team's challenge evaporated once Leeds took the lead and Stuart's dismissal ensured there was no way back.

O'Leary said: 'I don't know where we stand in terms of our title credentials. I think we are about fourth in terms of our squad but who knows what we can do? The dividing line is very fine between the top clubs.

'Because of the UEFA Cup, we will play a lot of games on a Sunday and I've told the players I want to start those games like we did today, in a position where we can go top.