Patrick Bamford's early penalty was the difference in the first Premier League meeting between Leeds United and Burnley.
Bamford won and converted the spot-kick after five minutes to take his tally for the season to 10 goals.
Leeds pushed for a second with Rodrigo, Jack Harrison and Pablo Hernandez all denied by Nick Pope.
In the second half Burnley rallied but they could find no way past Illan Meslier, who made six saves including a late stop from Ashley Barnes.
Burnley's best chance of an equaliser fell to Jay Rodriguez on 81 minutes but the substitute fired over the bar from close range.
Leeds rise to 12th with 20 points, while Burnley are 17th on 13 points after their four-match unbeaten run came to an end.
See: Leeds report | Burnley report
Next fixtures
Leeds: 29 Dec v West Brom (A)
Burnley: 29 Dec v Sheff Utd (H)
Match officials
Referee: Robert Jones. Assistants: Darren Cann, Nick Greenhalgh. Fourth official: Craig Pawson. VAR: Michael Oliver. Assistant VAR: Andy Halliday.
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