Enjoying the Championship bear pit was as good as it gets for Mario Vrancic – and played its part in Norwich City's statement Leeds win.
The Bosnian international arguably delivered the performance of his Canaries career so far, with two goals and a hand in the third to see Norwich overtake their Yorkshire hosts and dish out some sizeable revenge for their August defeat at Carrow Road.
The pressure was supposed to be on. A sold-out Elland Road was earmarked as the height of intimidation. In the end, Norwich only rose to and beyond the occasion.
'It was definitely one of the toughest games we've had this season,' said Vrancic.
'In front of those supporters, against the league leaders. Leeds are a great side, difficult to defend and it was very tough. Everyone had a great effort and put everything into it.
'To be honest we were pretty excited about the game. We knew what was coming, especially the atmosphere and the tough opponent. We were really, really happy and just enjoying the game.
'Then with the young lads? It's not normal I would say that they are so calm in those games and the match of the day. Everyone did so well.
MORE: Leeds United 1-3 Norwich City – How the Championship clash unfolded
'I think as a young kid you want to play these games in front of these fans and stuff, enjoying every moment and enjoying especially the team performance. When you're having a run and when you're scoring and winning, it's easier to enjoy it. But I think with fun and enjoyment you can increase the probability to win the game, and that was great again - especially with the support of our fans.
'I'm not sure Leeds had that much pressure on them. They were the league leaders. I think in any game you have some kind of pressure but it's also important to maybe switch it to just enjoy the game. We managed it and we're happy about it.'
City knew they wouldn't have it all their own way against Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds however the game panned out – a point made clear by head coach Daniel Farke before kick-off.
Vrancic added: 'We said to ourselves before the game they were going to be maybe some setbacks and stuff, but the boss told us as a young kid you want to play in these games. We enjoyed it definitely. It's much easier when you when you are successful.
'To be honest it feels amazing at the moment – just buzzing about the win, a great performance, great support. We are just happy in the belief we could win this game.
'We were well prepared. We knew what Leeds were going to do. We knew it would be difficult to defend and we would need to fight and win challenges, tackles against them – especially in the areas where we then did it, especially in the first half and just a short way to the goal.
Luckily we did it today.'
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