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Tim Hobbs reporting

Mark Viduka produced a sensational scoring performance with all FOUR goals in Leeds' stunning win over Liverpool at Elland Road this morning.

The Aussie striker took his tally to the season to 10 as his side came from behind twice in the Premiership game of the season so far.

Early goals from Sami Hyypia and Christian Ziege caught Leeds napping after the morning kick-off before Viduka stirred and showed just why David O'Leary splashed out £6million in the summer. The reason for such excess from the Aussie must be that he wanted to impress his home fans - watching live Down Under.

Question marks have been raised against his ability to cut it south of the border, but with nine goals in his last five Premiership games, he has surely silenced the doubters.

But on a day when both sides struggled to defend with any cohesion, there will still be quizzical looks either side of the Pennines as to whether or not these two have the clout to keep up with Manchester United and Arsenal.

They at least showed they have the firepower to make a fist of it - even if Liverpool's two early scorers were not the usual suspects.

With Robbie Fowler on the bench, Michael Owen still out of action, and Emile Heskey eventually subdued after a bright start, it was left to Sami Hyypia to head home the opener on two minutes.

Another absence of any marking 15 minutes later saw Ziege rise to head home another pin-point delivery from Elland Road old boy Gary McAllister and leave any Leeds title hopes hanging by the slenderest of threads.

But Viduka sewed the first seeds of doubt, lifting the ball over Sander Westerveld to make it 2-1 after Alan Smith had charged down Ziege's delayed clearance.

The Aussie hitman took less than a minute of the second half to level the game, soaring at the near post to plant Gary Kelly's right-wing cross home with the Liverpool defence flat-footed.

Only a goalline clearance from Jamie Carragher prevented Smith from putting the home side ahead within seconds before Gerard Houllier's men at last regained some composure.

Heskey was denied by Paul Robinson before Patrik Berger and Vladimir Smicer finally got Leeds in Czech, the latter finishing coolly after his compatriot had made inroads down the left.

But if Smicer's finish was classy, it was merely a prelude to a quite sumptuous effort from Viduka, who claimed his first Premiership match ball with the first of two goals in as many minutes.

Picking up a precise through-ball from the all-action Olivier Dacourt, he left two defenders trailing with a seemingly needless pirouette before slotting past Westerveld and through Stephen Gerrard's legs on the line.

The precocious turn accounted for Berger, who left the field on a stretcher with what seemed a serious injury straight away and missed Viduka adding insult to injury with another seconds later.

This time he appeared to be off-side when Dacourt's low drive fell at his feet, but the finish itself was conclusive as he reacted smartly to lift what is fast becoming a trademark finish over the onrushing Westerveld.

It left Liverpool furious and led to a frantic finish, but the Leeds defence held, ensuring they were not caught in the blocks before the Premiership race is really underway.

Eric Cantona once scored a hat-trick in a 4-3 Leeds win over Liverpool. At last in Viduka, Elland Road seems to have found someone willing to take on the baton - and go one better.

Leeds: Robinson, Kelly, Harte, Woodgate (Hay 16), Matteo, Bowyer, Bakke, Dacourt, Burns, Smith, Viduka.
Subs Not Used: Jones, Milosevic, Evans.
Booked: Bowyer.
Goals: Viduka 24, 47, 73, 75.

Liverpool : Westerveld, Carragher, Ziege, Babbel, Hyypia, Smicer, Murphy (Fowler 67), McAllister (Gerrard 68), Hamann, Berger (Barmby 74), Heskey.
Subs Not Used: Henchoz, Arphexad.
Booked: Ziege, Berger, Babbel, Gerrard.
Goals: Hyypia 2, Ziege 18, Smicer 61

Att: 40,055
Ref: D Elleray (Harrow-on-the-Hill).

FOUR-GOAL STAR SAYS 'I'VE PLAYED BETTER'

Mark Viduka showed plenty of modesty to go with his first Premiership match ball by admitting it was not his best game.

The Aussie hitman bagged all four goals to take his tally for the season to 10, but played down his part in the amazing 4-3 win.

He told Sky Sports: "It was one of those days. Every time I had a sniff of goal it went in.

"Very rarely do you get to be part of those sort of games.

"We got off to a pretty bad start and conceded two goals from set pieces and it was an uphill battle from then on.

"I don't think I had an exceptionally good game - I have performed better in other games but not scored this many goals.

"You need a little bit of luck in these situations. I had a couple of chances and put them away."

Triumphant Leeds boss David O'Leary admitted that his Leeds side had to ride their luck before claiming a rollercoaster success over Liverpool.

O'Leary's men were 2-0 down after 17 minutes and then trailed 3-2 before Viduka matched his Elland Road predecessor Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, now at Chelsea, with the Premiership's second four-goal haul of the season.

O'Leary said: "We were a bit lucky but we always have spirit.

"In Viduka and Smith I felt we always had a chance of taking on their back four and getting something out of them. I always felt we could score goals against them."

But the former centre-back was not entirely happy with events at the other end as neither defence looked strong.

And to make matters worse, O'Leary saw Jonathan Woodgate limp off just four days ahead of the crucial Champions League showdown against AC Milan.

He said: "Both teams gave away bad goals - from our point of view particularly their first two.

"There was bad marking by us and they were two bad free-kicks to give away. We gave them two goals that they didn't earn."

On Woodgate's injury, the Leeds boss groaned: "That's par for the course at the moment. It's frustrating not having a settled back four to work on.

"But we've got to hang in like this until Christmas when hopefully we'll get a few players back."

A shell-shocked Gerard Houllier admitted that his side shot themselves in the foot after leading twice.

Sami Hyypia, Christian Ziege and Vladimir Smicer all made the most of some sloppy marking to score, but it was not enough to keep Liverpool on the coat-tails of Manchester United and Arsenal.

He said: "We don't have anyone to blame but ourselves.

"We played very well in the first half but our defensive display was poor.

"I was very disappointed because I thought the team collapsed physically towards the end. Perhaps we paid the price for what we did against Chelsea three days ago."

The Liverpool boss also cast doubts over Viduka's winner. TV replays showed the Aussie was off-side, although Houllier did not blame the decision for his side's defeat.

He said: "The fourth goal looked offside but it didn't look too clear.

"I thought if we'd led a bit longer when we were 3-2 up we would have been OK but, unfortunately, we conceded the third goal when we had Christian Ziege injured.

"We could have been more clinical in taking our chances but I thought we deserved at least a draw."