The Red Devils were able to win two back to back games in their pre-season friendlies as Manchester United defeated Leeds United 4-0.
In front of a pretty massive crowd for a friendly fixture, which saw 55,000+ fans turning up for the friendly, Manchester United put four goals past Kiko Casilla at Optus Stadium. Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Phil Jones and Anthony Martial found their names on the score sheet.
The Norweigan manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, once again named two different eleven for each half. In total, OGS played 23 players against the English Championship side.
The main absentees from the playing eleven were David de Gea and Romelu Lukaku. David de Gea was out of the fixture due to illness and Romelu Lukaku is yet to be declared fit as he suffered a knock in the practice sessions.
Moreover, Lukaku is moving away, day by day, from Old Trafford. Also, the manager did not risk playing the English fullback Luke Shaw, who suffered a hamstring injury against Perth Glory.
The match against Leeds United started with high pressing from Manchester United. The Old Trafford based outfit seemed to gain the lead in the second minute itself. However, the decisive pass from Victor Lindelof was slammed to the post from Marcus Rashford, denying the goal for Manchester United.
Mason Greenwood Makes An Impression
However, it did not take much time for Manchester United to sneak in a goal. A brilliant link-up play from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Paul Pogba led to the first goal. A low cross from the new fullback was picked up by Mason Greenwood and was slammed past the keeper in the 17th minute.
However, after the first goal, Leeds United played an excellent passage of football, but failed to find the back of the net. On the other hand, Sergio Romero stopped many shots fired by the Leeds United players. The six-yard shot from Harisson went pegging as it went just wide of the post.
The missed opportunities of the Yorkshire based outfit was made accountable as Scott McTominay found Marcus Rashford, who recently signed a contract extension, on the break just before the half-hour mark. McTominay played a beautiful ball in the midfield to Rashford, who dummied Berardi to slot the ball past the goalkeeper.
Just before the halftime, Leeds United defence was caught sleeping once again. This time, it was the turn for Daniel James to hit the woodwork. Rashford’s pass found James at the corner of the box, but the Welshman couldn’t put the ball past Kiko Casilla.
At half time, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made 11 changes to the line-up and fielded a completely different eleven. But the move didn’t affect the tempo of the game too much.
Phil Jones met the corner of Andreas Periera in the 51st minute to make it 3-0. There were few significant challenges from Kalvin Phillips and Barry Douglas on United players. But, they fell further behind when Anthony Martial slotted the penalty in the 69th minute. Liam Cooper brought down Tahith Chong which resulted in a penalty for the Red Devils.
READ MORE:
Is Man United Headed for More Misery in the Transfer Market This Summer?
Man United Consider Stunning £50m Bid For Aston Villa Star – And Its Not Jack Grealish
It was indeed an excellent performance from the Old Trafford based outfit. And, it was an unique opportunity for the fans of both the teams to enjoy the fixture. The club is looking in good shape and two signings (a defender and a midfielder) can make United a strong team.
Manchester United First Half Playing Eleven Against Leeds United
Sergio Romero, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Marcos Rojo, Scott McTominay, Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood, Juan Mata, Daniel James, Marcus Rashford
Manchester United Second Half Playing Eleven Against Leeds United
Joel Pereira, Diogo Dalot, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Axel Tuanzebe, Ashley Young, Andreas Pereira, James Garner, Angel Gomes, Nemanja Matic, Tahith Chong, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial.
Keep following Arsedevils for more news and updates on Manchester United.
