Leeds, England. Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho each scored a goal in the last 10 minutes of Manchester United and Leeds United at Elland Road on Sunday to secure a 2-0 victory that keeps the team’s Premier League title hopes alive.
Before Rashford opened the scoring in the 80th minute, Leeds were threatening to extend United’s poor run of form to one win in five games, but his stunning header and Garnacho’s solo goal pulled out a late win for Erik ten Hag’s team to hold onto. their hosts in flight. the problem is at the wrong end of the table.
Fast reaction
1. Rashford strikes again to keep Manchester United in the title race
It’s arguable that Manchester United are still in the Premier League title race, but they would almost certainly have dropped out if Rashford hadn’t scored the winning goal against Leeds.
Rashford’s 80th-minute header, after Luke Shaw crossed a long pass from Marcel Sabitzer into the box, broke the deadlock in a hard-fought game at Elland Road. Garnacho’s solo strike five minutes later made the game safe, but it was Rashford’s goal – his 13th goal in 15 games since the World Cup restart – that was the winner.
The win means United are now five points behind leaders Arsenal, although having played two more games than the Gunners, but Mikel Arteta’s side are set to face champions Manchester City for the first time this season in the league in Wednesday. United are clearly underdogs at this stage in the title race, but Rashford’s goal has kept them hopeful.
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Prior to this game, Ten Hag’s side had only won one of their last four Premier League matches, so it looked like the momentum at Old Trafford was drying up. They conceded with a last-minute equalizer at Crystal Palace and beat Arsenal in a last-minute 3-2 defeat at the Emirates before having to bounce back 2-0 to draw against Leeds » at home last Wednesday.
If it wasn’t for those lost points, United would be right in the middle of a title fight and not currently in third place, hoping Arsenal and City would lose. With Arsenal and City still facing each other twice – United have played both sides home and away – they will be taking points away from each other, so United can still dream thanks to their late win at ” Elland Road.
2. Adams and McKenney can inspire Leeds to win
Any team looking to avoid relegation needs to have fighting ability and at times this season Leeds have been a little too soft. But with US duo Tyler Adams and Weston McKenney now cementing their midfield, Leeds have the perfect foundation on which to build their survival attempt.
When Adams beat down United’s Jadon Sancho with a tough first-minute test – it was tough but fair – it not only fired up the Leeds fans, it also sent a signal to his teammates that this was a game where every 50- 50 tackles had to be won. Moments later, McKenny issued a similar challenge to Tyrell Malasia, which resulted in the United left-back being treated on the pitch.
Neither tackle was pretty, but Adams and McKenney both showed a fighting spirit that Leeds will have to repeat from now until the end of the season. Leeds fans are some of the loudest and most demanding in the Premier League and their support can create an intimidating atmosphere for rivals at Elland Road. In a relegation battle, players and fans need to nurture each other, but Adams and McKenny seem to get the point.
3. Key omissions reveal United’s lack of creativity
It was one of Manchester United’s least impressive performances of the season and much of this can be attributed to the absence of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen.
Eriksen has been out for a long time with an ankle ligament injury against Reading in the FA Cup last month and the Danish international is expected to be out until the end of April. Meanwhile, Casemiro was serving the second match of three home bans following a red card for violent behavior against Crystal Palace last week.
United would probably do well without one Casemiro or Eriksen in midfield against most opponents, but it’s hard for them without both of them. Casemiro has been United’s best player this season and their driving force, while Eriksen has impressed with his creativity and ability to control the pace of the game.
While Sabitzer, on loan from Bayern Munich, added athleticism and tenacity, his partnership with Fred at Elland Road provided neither the drive nor the flair that Casemiro and Eriksen brought to United.
And with two such experienced, high quality midfielders not in the squad, Bruno Fernandes struggled to get into the game against Leeds. Fernandes is a talent but he needs better players and this game felt like a throwback to last season when the midfield lacked too many chances.
The good news for United is that Casemiro will be able to play in the first leg of the Europa League play-off against Barcelona on Thursday, but there is no good news when it comes to Eriksen’s absence.
Best and Worst Performers
BEST: Tyler Adams, Leeds. The Leeds midfielder set the tone for his team by breaking Sancho in the first minute, but he is more than a destroyer and he showed it in this game.
BEST: Luke Ayling, Leeds. The Leeds captain is an old-fashioned defender, but that’s exactly what his team needed, and he stuck to the task of covering Rashford.
BEST: Fred, Manchester United. Without the suspended Casemiro, United threatened to be outflanked in midfield, but Fred did the two-man job at times, keeping control of the midfield.
WORST: Wut Weghorst, Manchester United. United needed an extra striker after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, but it was Weghorst’s ninth game since joining on loan last month and he looked completely out of his element once again.
WORST: Harry Maguire, Manchester United. A rare start for the United captain, but he was wobbly and unconvincing, especially when Jack Harrison caught him making a sloppy back pass.
WORST: Jadon Sancho, Manchester United. The English winger still feels like he’s back in action after his two-month absence from the squad and he was ineffective against Leeds and, unsurprisingly, was substituted.
Highlights and Notable Moments
It’s always Rashford.
Who else but Marcus Rashford? 🫡
📺: @USANetwork #MyPLMorning | #LEMON pic.twitter.com/qDfAdXzjZY
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 12, 2023
After the match: what the players/managers said
Statement from Leeds and Manchester United after fans chant about clubs’ historic tragedies: “Both clubs strongly condemn the chanting of both groups of supporters about the historic tragedies in today’s game. This behavior is completely unacceptable and we will continue to work with our respective fan groups, the Premier League and other authorities to eradicate this from football.”
Maguire on his choice: “There are a lot of players in the team who are not playing right now. This club has four comfortable international central defenders and there will always be two dissatisfied. I will continue to fight and work hard to be ready when I am called.” .”
Key statistics (provided by Sportzshala Stats & Information research)
– Rashford’s 13 goals in 15 games in all competitions since the World Cup are the best among players in Europe’s big five leagues, along with AS Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder.
– David de Gea played his 400th Premier League career for Manchester United, becoming Gary Neville’s third highest scoring all-time. Only Ryan Giggs (632) and Paul Scholes (499) have more Premier League appearances for the Red Devils.
Next
Leeds United: Leeds will return to action on Saturday, heading to Goodison Park, where a rendezvous with relegation rivals Everton will make a huge difference to the bottom of the table.
Manchester United: It may be in the Europa League, but United’s next matchup is a delicious continental clash with Barcelona on Thursday at Camp Nou.
Source: www.espn.com
