In the 26th round of the Premier League, the "Rose Derby" was played at the Elam Road Stadium. Before the match, Manchester United was provisionally ranked 4th with 43 points from 12 wins, 7 draws and 6 losses in 25 rounds, and Leeds United ranked 15th with 23 points from 5 wins, 8 draws and 10 losses, one in the struggle for 4 and one in the fight for relegation. In this game, Ronnick rotated in 2 positions. The long-absent Wan-Bissaka started in place of Dalot, and Jesse Lingard made his first start of the season as a right winger. The feud between the two teams needs no further words, and although the game was played in heavy rain, the physical movements of the two teams were still full of gunpowder.
After the opening, the collisions between the players continued, the game was frequently interrupted, leeds united player Lich hit the head of McTominay and became popular, and finally could not insist on being replaced. In addition, due to the wet and slippery field and the fast pace of both teams, there were many mistakes in passing and receiving the ball. In the 5th minute, Leeds United, playing at home, took the lead. On a counter-attack, Harrison received a teammate's over-the-top shot from inside the penalty area, but the force went too far over the crossbar. Although there were no goals, De Gea was clearly furious at his teammate's defensive position.
In the 9th minute, United returned the attack. Pogba received a pass from his teammate and burst into the right side of the penalty area, shot low with his feet, but was confiscated by Mélier without sending a shot; in the 22nd minute, Fochau snatched the ball into the box, then shot with his feet, and De Gea punched the ball out with both fists.
In the 26th minute, Pogba had a wonderful one-on-one break near the bottom line on the left. Facing Fochau's defense, Pogba changed direction after a series of fake moves, crossed the defenders, and then crossed to the goal. Cristiano Ronaldo ran slightly but still used his foot to hook, but unfortunately, Mélier, who did not react quickly again, blocked it and missed the opportunity to score.
In the 32nd minute, Pogba performed brilliantly again. After receiving a pass from Luke Shaw, he cleverly picked up the defender with his heels in the face of the ball, then swung past Erin who came up to grab it, and then allocated a fee to the vacant B fee, who slightly adjusted a scrub, but the angle was not good enough, and was again saved by Melier. A minute later, United finally scored. United won a corner kick on the right side of the field, Luke Shaw drove in front of goal and Maguire pushed the ball into the goal against the defender, 1-0! This is the first time manchester United has used a corner kick to score directly this season, and it is also Maguire's first league goal of the season, which is undoubtedly a strong response to questions and accusations in the past period.
Since then, United have continued to exert pressure and organise offensive attacks on several occasions. In the 4th minute of first-half stoppage time, Lindelof dribbled the ball all the way to the leeds united penalty area and then handed it over to Sancho, who followed up on the right. The latter passed the ball in front of the goal, B Fee followed up with a header to break the goal, and United entered the second half with a 2-0 score.
At the start of the second half, Bielsa took the lead in substitutions. Youngsters Gerhart and Rafinha replaced Llorente and Harrison respectively, which is a signal for Leeds United to strengthen their attack. Sure enough, after the opening, Leeds United stepped up the pressing force in the front. But it was United who took the lead in getting a shot, but Sancho's lack of power on the right side of the box was confiscated by the goalkeeper.
Since then, the attacks of both teams have come and gone, and both have been given the opportunity to shoot. In the 52nd minute, Leeds United counter-attacked, Rodrigo floated into the United goal with a pass-like shot from the wing, and De Gea whipped long, 1-2! A minute later, Leeds United successfully counter-attacked in front of the field, D-James burst into the box and crossed, Rafinha shoveled the goal, 2-2! Manchester United players complained to the referee that Leeds United had fouled first, but VAR confirmed that the goal was valid. Bielsa's life-saving substitution worked, and the suspense of the game was back!
Since then, Leeds United has gained momentum and continued to maintain a high-pressure posture in the front. Manchester United players, on the other hand, began to become anxious and made frequent mistakes. In the 67th minute, Ronnick made a substitution adjustment, Fred replaced Pogba and Erlanga replaced the average Lingard.
In the 69th minute, Fred, who had just played 2 minutes, played the Wizards. B Fei broke the ball at the back and then passed to Ronaldo, who pushed fred, Fred dialed Sancho and then quickly stepped forward, Sancho cleverly flicked, Fred followed up with a left-footed shot, the ball drilled into the net like a cannonball, 3-2! United once again took the lead.
In the 71st minute, United played a counterattack again, Sancho advanced with the ball, and three United players followed. But after winning the ball, Elanga's shot was weak and weak, directly handed to Mélier, missing a good opportunity to open the score. In the 88th minute, Fred instigated the attack, B Fei took the ball and handed it to Elanga, who broke through the crotch, 4-2! The suspense disappears in an instant.
The Rose derby was full of twists and turns, and Bielsa's second-half life-beating substitution almost saved the game. Lonnick saw the trick, and Fred, who had just played the game, played the Miracle Soldier and repaid the trust of the manager with a goal, and Manchester United finally took 3 points in the rain, consolidating the top 4 rankings.
Throughout the game, United had the advantage of 55 per cent of the ball, creating 9 of 15 shots on target, including 9 of 5 in the first half. But Leeds United's advantage was more pronounced in the second half, with a possession rate of 71 per cent at one point. Of the 16 shots on goal, 10 were in the second half and five hit the target. In addition to those two goals, Leeds United's multiple shots threatened the goal guarded by De Gea.