Man Utd vs Leeds LIVE: Premier League result and final score as Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford earn draw
Manchester United 2-2 Leeds United: The visitors led by two goals but Erik ten Hag’s side denied their rivals a vital win as Rashford and Sancho rescued a draw
Substitute Jadon Sancho secured Manchester United a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Leeds to deny their managerless rivals a famous first league win at Old Trafford in 42 years.
The relegation-threatened Whites sacked Jesse Marsch on Monday and caretaker replacement Michael Skubala was on course to mastermind an unforgettable victory two days later.
Wilfried Gnonto fired the visitors ahead after 55 seconds and Raphael Varane turned into his own goal early in the second half as Leeds dreamt of a first league win at Old Trafford since February 1981.
But Erik ten Hag’s United are made of stern stuff and rallied impressively, with Marcus Rashford’s header followed by substitute Sancho’s first goal since September in a thrilling 2-2 draw.
Illan Meslier superbly stopped Varane scoring a winner at the end of a rip-roaring tussle that adds excitement ahead of Sunday’s return fixture at a bouncing Elland Road.
Follow all the reaction from Old Trafford as Man Utd take on Leeds in the Premier League:
Man Utd vs Leeds
Leeds United are winless in seven Premier League games and have won two of their last 17 with five draws and 10 defeats.
They have failed to win each of their last nine midweek league matches, losing six of them.
Man Utd vs Leeds
Manchester United have earned an unrivalled 16 points since the Premier League resumed after the World Cup.
The Reds are on a run of 13 consecutive home victories in all competition, their longest streak since 20 straight victories from December 2010 to September 2011 under Alex Ferguson.
Marcus Rashford is carrying the burden of Manchester United’s striker struggles
It is an imperfect 10 for Erik ten Hag. Tuesday marked the six-month anniversary of his first game as Manchester United manager and he has had only seen 10 goals from his specialist strikers. One was against Omonia Nicosia, two against Sheriff Tiraspol, three against Nottingham Forest. Only four were in the Premier League.
In a different era, when Sir Alex Ferguson invariably played two up front, his fearsome foursome of centre-forwards scored 76 times in 1998/99. Playing as a lone striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy got 44 on his own in 2002/03. Even last season, Cristiano Ronaldo mustered 24.
None of this is to suggest United should be nostalgic for their traumatic campaign last year: the evidence is clear they are better without the departed Ronaldo. But he only scored three times for Ten Hag before his United career ended abruptly. Thus far, Anthony Martial has six goals, new arrival Wout Weghorst one.
Marcus Rashford is carrying the burden of Manchester United’s striker struggles
Wout Weghorst’s lack of goals and Antony Martial’s lack of fitness has forced Marcus Rashford into the central striker’s berth too often - now the England forward needs their support
Man Utd vs Leeds team changes
Erik ten Hag makes three changes to the Manchester United team that lined-up against Crystal Palace last time out. Diogo Dalot returns at right-back in place of Aaron Wan-Bissaka whilst there is a first start for Marcel Sabitzer who joins Fred in midfield. Alejandro Garnacho also comes in for Antony.
There are just two changes to the Leeds team that lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in their last outing. Liam Cooper and Marc Roca drop out with Robin Koch and Weston McKennie replacing them.
Man Utd vs Leeds line-ups
Man Utd XI: De Gea, Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw, Fred, Sabitzer, Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford, Weghorst
Leeds XI: Meslier, Ayling, Koch, Wober, Struijk, Adams, McKennie, Sinisterra, Harrison, Gnonto, Bamford
Man Utd vs Leeds
Leeds have conceded 11 goals in their two games away to the Red Devils since returning to the top flight, losing 6-2 in December 2020 and 5-1 in August 2021.
Will tonight be a more reserved affair or another goal fest?
Ten Hag on Man Utd’s impressive home form
Manchester United have now won 13 consecutive matches at Old Trafford under Erik ten Hag and it’s a run the manager hopes to improve on this evening when his side take on Leeds in the Premier League.
“It was one of our aims this season, to get that back. It was a part of the process to restore Man Utd to the club we were once.” said Ten Hag when asked if the fear-factor had been brought back to Old Trafford.
“But, it’s a part of it. Home is good, but I think we have away also good results, but in away games, we can show even more personality, play more convincingly.
“So, that’s the next step we have to make to have the same team on the pitch with personality as we are at home. Obviously, I’m really happy with the process we’ve shown at home, it’s great to have that connection with Old Trafford, but also, I think we have to be aware that when we play away, we always have a lot of fans following us and we can do the same away because the pitches are the same size, it’s 11 v 11, nothing changes.
“So, in that fact, we can grow, we still have steps to make, and we are happy with that as well because it is a good challenge.”
Qatari bid for Man Utd should be ‘another wake-up call’ for Premier League
Reports of an imminent Qatari bid for Manchester United should be a “wake-up call” to the Premier League to strengthen its ownership rules, Amnesty International has warned.
The Daily Mail has reported that private investors from the Gulf state which hosted last year’s World Cup are keen to buy United, with an apparent £6bn price-tag not putting them off.
Human rights group Amnesty says any purchase would be a continuation of Qatar’s attempts to sportswash its image, citing limited reforms on improving conditions for migrant workers and no signs at all that it will decriminalise same-sex relationships.
Qatari bid for Man Utd should be ‘another wake-up call’ for Premier League
The club’s current owners are looking at the possibility of a sale, with a Qatari consortium said to be interested
Qatari investors reportedly set to bid for Manchester United
Qatari investors are planning to make a huge bid to buy Premier League club Manchester United, the Daily Mail newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.
The report described the investors as “a group of private, high-wealth individuals” from Qatar, which hosted the 2022 World Cup.
United declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Jim Ratcliffe’s company INEOS formally entered the bidding process to buy United last month after the club’s US owners, the Glazer family, said in November they had begun looking at options including new investment or a potential sale.
Qatari investors reportedly set to bid for Man United
Qatari investors have been said to be interested in buying a Premier League
Erik ten Hag on Jesse Marsch’s sacking
During his media duties in the build-up to tonight’s clash Erik ten Hag was asked what he thought about Leeds sacking manager Jesse Marsch on Monday just two days before this encounterd.
The Man Utd boss replied: “It’s always sad if a manager is a colleague and gets sacked, in general I don’t believe in it that if you sack a manager, you get better results. Most of the time, it doesn’t work.Let managers do their work, finish their work and then make a good evaluation.
“Obviously, the pressure is high with the decision makers in football clubs, and they turn. But if you see the facts, you see the stats, most of the time it doesn’t work out well.
“When Jesse was at Leeds, it was clear how they play, their way of play, system, style. Now, it’s possible they change but it’s also possible they don’t change.
“We will find out on the pitch tomorrow and then we need good anticipation on that if they change, and if not, we know what to do.
“Bad anticipation for instance against Villa, the difference for them when [Unai] Emery came in is they had a week to prepare and now they [Leeds] don’t have so much time to prepare. We will see but we need god anticipation and to be proactive.”
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