Leeds United 0 – 2 Manchester United. Manchester United scored twice in the final 10 minutes at Elland Road to leave manager-less Leeds deep in relegation trouble.
Marcus Rashford broke the deadlock when he rose to meet Luke Shaw’s curling cross to head past Illan Meslier for his 21st goal of a superb season.
Substitute Alejandro Garnacho then outpaced the home defence before beating Meslier at his near post to the obvious joy of manager Erik ten Hag on the touchline.
The result was harsh on Leeds, who created a number of decent opportunities but could not beat visiting goalkeeper David de Gea.
It also turns the focus on football director Victor Orta, who is responsible for bringing in a replacement for Jesse Marsch, who was sacked last week.
Chief executive Angus Kinnear, who sat next to Orta in the directors’ box, pointed out in his programme notes that he understands the importance of a prompt replacement for Marsch, not least because chairman Andrea Radrizzani suggested last Tuesday it was imminent.
That work continues knowing if Everton wins Monday’s Merseyside derby at Anfield, Leeds will drop into the bottom three.
For almost 45 minutes, the atmosphere was by some distance the best bit of an afternoon crackling with tension but lacking in quality.
Sadly, the electricity around the stadium took on a more sinister tone just before the break when a sizeable section of the Leeds fans to the left of the stand behind De Gea’s goal sang the ‘Munich’ song, about the Manchester United air crash in 1958 which resulted in the death of 23 passengers, including eight players.
On the pitch, in stoppage time before the interval, Meslier produced an excellent feet-first save to deny Bruno Fernandes, who had run beyond the Leeds defence after blocking Max Wober’s intended pass.
From the subsequent corner, the ball bounced off Luke Ayling and narrowly wide of the far post, with Rashford inches away from being able to convert.
It was thoroughly in keeping with the general mood around Elland Road that Jadon Sancho and Tyrrell Malacia were sent spinning through the air with ferocious, but fair, early Leeds tackles.
Ayling and Malacia had a grabbing match as the Leeds man kept hold of the ball when his opponent tried to snatch it from him to take a quick throw, and Leeds duo Junior Firpo and Weston McKennie and Manchester United’s Fred were all booked as referee Paul Tierney tried to regain control.
source – BBC
