Result

The match, as was to be expected, started in fairly scrappy fashion with a number of lively tackles thrown in.

Manchester United then began to gain some sort of control in the tie and would take the lead after 33 minutes when Harry Maguire, who was basically unmarked, headed home from a Luke Shaw corner.


Manchester United were then able to double their lead right before the break after Victor Lindelof strode forward and found Jadon Sancho whose dinked ball was headed in by Bruno Fernandes.


Then, in a bizarre turn of events, Leeds were back on level terms thanks to goals from Rodrigo and Raphinha in the 53rd and 54th minute, the first of which was actually a cross.

Manchester United were then able to retake the lead when Fred came on and scored three minutes later before fellow substitute Anthony Elanga put the final nail in Leeds’ coffin 88 minutes in.

The game drew to a close with Manchester United winning 4-2, keeping their 4th place spot and pushing Leeds towards the relegation zone.

Player Ratings

Leeds United

Illan Meslier (2) – Meslier’s distribution vs Manchester United was less than perfect as was his decision-making, being left in no man’s land for the Maguire goal. The Frenchman also should have done better with Fernandes’ goal and Fred’s – a day to forget for Meslier.

Luke Ayling (4.5) – Ayling’s defensive awareness for the second goal of the day was poor. Not the right-back’s most inspiring performance.

Diego Llorente (4) – Llorente failed to stick tight enough to Harry Maguire on the corner the Englishman opened the scoring from. Was taken off at half-time.

Robin Koch (3) – A very quiet half an hour before being taken off injured after 31 minutes.

Pascal Struijk (5.5) – Failed to close down Lindelof and then Sancho in the build-up to Fernandes’ goal but did keep Ronaldo quiet.

Adam Forshaw (6) – Showed some quality defensively but was not quick enough to help prevent the Bruno goal. He then won the ball from Bruno to start the counter for the Peacock’s second.

Stuart Dallas (5.5) – Dallas allowed Bruno Fernandes to run past him too easily in the build-up to Manchester United’s second goal. Did well to block Sancho’s goal-bound effort at 2-2.

Mateusz Klich (6.5) –  Klich was one of Leeds’ brighter players in the first half, producing an excellent over-the-top ball to Jack Harrison who wasted his effort and then unleashed a long-range effort late in the half. Similarly ambitious but ineffective in the second half.

Jack Harrison (4.5) – Should have done better with the Klich ball early in the first half. Was then taken off at half-time.

Daniel James (6.5) – A very poor first 45 but the Welshman then beat Wan-Bissaka and Sancho to set up Leeds’ second.

Rodrigo (6) – Was kept very quiet in the first half and barely touched the ball. But he then scored a bizarre goal 52 minutes in which was actually a cross.

Leeds Substitutes

Junior Firpo (6) – Was brought on after half an hour. Did well to win the ball in the build-up to Leeds’ first but then gave the ball away for Manchester United’s 3rd.

Raphinha (7) – Brought on at half-time, had an almost instant impact, scoring Leeds’ second after less than 10 minutes on the pitch.

Joe Gelhardt (4.5) – Brought on at half-time but did very little of note.

Manchester United

David de Gea (5.5) – Had little to do in the first half, making one save. But what was then done by a bizarre Rodrigo cross for Leeds’ first goal.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (5.5) – A quiet first half, should have done better closing Dan James down when he set up Raphinha.

Victor Lindelof (7) – Lindelof helped keep Leeds’ attack quiet in the first half and then made a marauding run that was key to Manchester United’s second goal. Then did something similar in the second half, which also nearly led to another goal.

Harry Maguire (7) – Maguire has come in for some heavy criticism of late, but stepped up to hand Manchester United the lead with a powerful header. Didn’t do too much wrong for Leeds’ goals.

Luke Shaw (6.5) – Shaw’s cross from the corner to set up Harry Maguire’s opener was excellent and showed why he has won his place back in the side. Could have marked Raphinha better for his goal.

Scott McTominay (4) – An uninspiring display from McTominay that saw him commit a number of fouls and lose possession a fair bit. Lucky not to have been sent off.

Paul Pogba (7) – Pogba looked sharp vs Leeds, breaking forward well and causing their defence all sorts of issues. Should have had an assist in the first half but Ronaldo’s finish was poor. Pogba was then somewhat surprisingly taken off after 66 minutes with United needing a 3rd goal, though he did look slightly tired.

Bruno Fernandes (7.5) – Fernandes had a pretty poor first half, giving away the ball, losing possession too easily and looking well of the pace. However, he then scored United’s second of the day in first-half injury time.

But his good work for the goal was undone as he was finally made to pay for flinging himself to the ground at every sign of some possible contact when Forshaw won the ball from him in the build-up to Leeds’ second. Fernandes then redeemed himself again, however, by setting up United’s 4th.

Jadon Sancho (9) – A quiet first half before producing a lovely, dinked ball to Bruno Fernandes for United’s second.  Sancho then set up Fred’s goal. The Englishman really looks to be coming into his own in a United shirt.

Cristiano Ronaldo (4.5) – Cristiano Ronaldo had a pretty poor first half and really should have done a lot better with the Paul Pogba chance. Another quiet day from the 37-year-old who was subbed for Raphael Varane after 84 minutes.

Jesse Lingard (3.5) – Did very little during his time on the pitch before being taken off shortly after the hour mark. Hard to imagine he will be starting United’s next game.

Manchester United Substitutes

Anthony Elanga (7) – Came on after 66 minutes and killed the game off with an 88th-minute goal. Good sub from Rangnick.

Fred (7.5) – Came on after 66 minutes, scored three minutes later. Also helped sure up United’s defence with some much-needed energy. Very good sub.

Raphael Varane (5) – Came on for the final six minutes to help maintain United’s lead and was able to do so.

What they said

Marcelo Bielsa

On not starting Raphinha: “I chose to form the attack with other players. These are decisions made throughout the season.”

On Leeds’ league position:”It is impossible not to be worried. We have conceded 50 goals. Do you think I cannot be worried? How can I not feel responsible?.”

Harry Maguire

On Manchester United scoring from a corner for the first time in 140 attempts: “Yeah embarrassing, every time I see the stat I feel embarrassed myself. I’m a big part in that set play routine and trying to score goals from corners but as a team, as a group, we’ve been nowhere near good enough.

“It’s a big part of the game and for sure if we score more from corners and set plays we’d be higher in the table. I know you can play all this pretty football but set plays are a massive part of the game and for sure this season has been nowhere near good enough on that behalf.”

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The Premier League table as it stands

# Team MP W D L F A D P
1 Manchester City 26 20 3 3 63 17 46 63
2 Liverpool FC 25 17 6 2 64 20 44 57
3 Chelsea FC 25 14 8 3 49 18 31 50
4 Manchester United 25 12 7 6 40 32 8 43
5 West Ham United 26 12 6 8 45 34 11 42
6 Arsenal FC 23 13 3 7 36 26 10 42
7 Tottenham Hotspur 23 12 3 8 31 31 0 39
8 Wolverhampton Wanderers 23 11 4 8 21 17 4 37
9 Brighton & Hove Albion 25 7 12 6 25 28 -3 33
10 Southampton FC 25 7 11 7 32 37 -5 32
11 Leicester City 22 7 6 9 36 41 -5 27
12 Aston Villa 24 8 3 13 31 37 -6 27
13 Crystal Palace 25 5 11 9 32 36 -4 26
14 Brentford FC 26 6 6 14 27 42 -15 24
15 Leeds United 23 5 8 10 27 46 -19 23
16 Everton FC 23 6 4 13 28 40 -12 22
17 Newcastle United 24 4 10 10 26 45 -19 22
18 Watford FC 24 5 3 16 24 43 -19 18
19 Burnley FC 22 2 11 9 20 29 -9 17
20 Norwich City 25 4 5 16 15 53 -38 17

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