Manchester United squandered a great opportunity to move at par in points with Man City when Leeds United held them at Old Trafford.
The midweek fixture had presented the former England League champions with a chance to get maximum 3 points and equal Man City’s current tally of 45.
The results mean that United will still get to hope that Manchester City will faulter – and still believe that the current League leaders Arsenal can also lose a number of games, for them to have realistic chances of winning back League trophy. But that is a mathematical chance that cannot guarantee someone of a confidence of winning a trophy which they last won in 2013 with manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
United were on the recieving end when Leeds United got their first goal in less than a minute (56th second) from the start of the game, through W. Gnonto. United tried to kill that difference but the visitors’ defence proved United’s attackers wrong.
In the early stages of the second half, again, United conceded a second goal through Rafael Varane; an own goal. The game looked to have been sealed in favour of Leeds United, but United, through Marcus Rashford, reduced the difference when the England star nodded home a cross from Portuguese right back Diogo Dalot.
United didn’t sit and wait. As the game progressed, Eric Ten Hag’s men pilled pressure on the the visitors’ defence until their efforts paid off when Jadon Sancho (a substitute for Alejandro Garnacho) curled in a grass-cutter past Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier, to put both teams at level.
Even though United pulled flurry of attacks, there wasn’t enough time left for them to bag maximum points at home. The next game for United will be the same opponents, Leeds United, on Sunday.
