Dean Smith admitted that Aston Villa were beaten by the better side as their unbeaten start to the Premier League season came to an end on Friday night.
Leeds United produced a superb second half display at Villa Park to put the home side to the sword, with Patrick Bamford netting all three goals.
And Smith conceded that his team had been second best on the night.
He said: “Big moments changed the game. It was pretty even in the first half and we had one cleared off the line, while they had a few chances as well.
“The first goal seemed to change the game – they gained a yard and we lost a yard. That was the disappointing part. It was the first time we’ve been behind this season.
“We didn’t handle that as well as we should, we became distracted with our game and what we needed to do.
“You have to give Leeds credit. We matched them for 50 minutes, but we didn’t for the last 40.”
Villa had made their best start to a league season since the 1930/31 season, winning their opening four league games.
Smith says the challenge now is for his players to pick themselves up and react positively in the next few games.
He said: “I’d have bitten someone’s hand off to have this start. I’m disappointed that we had the opportunity to go top of the league and have a five-match unbeaten run.
“It’s our job now to go on another run. It’s how we bounce back from this now. It’s disappointing and frustrating but I can only question my players for 40 minutes of this season.”
