Leeds United renew their historic rivalry with Manchester United in the worst way possible as they fall to a 6-2 defeat at Old Trafford this evening. The Whites were simply too sloppy in possession and took far too many risks, as the Red Devils picked up a healthy 4-0 lead within the first 40 minutes, although Liam Cooper did pull one back in the 41st minute.
Leeds looked much better in the second half but defensive mistakes saw United score a few more before Stuart Dallas pulled another back for the visitors with an excellent strike in the 73rd minute.
Leeds United Player Ratings Vs Manchester United
Illan Meslier 5/10
It was a miserable evening for Illan Meslier, who conceded a total of six goals. The Frenchman might have done a bit better in denying Daniel James’ goal but did make other excellent stops to save his side from further humiliation.
Stuart Dallas 3/10
Stuart Dallas was extremely clumsy in possession. He lost the ball on numerous occasions, allowing Manchester United to pour men forward on the counter. Looked more comfortable in a midfield role in the second half, and even scored a goal in the 73rd minute.
Luke Ayling 1/10
Luke Ayling was simply not competent enough to deal with the Manchester United attack this evening. The fullback, filling in at centre-back for the injured Robin Koch and Diego Llorente, let Scott McTominay and James make key runs in behind the backline, in what was perhaps the worst performance of his professional career.
Liam Cooper 2/10
Liam Cooper scored the important first goal for Leeds United just before half time. Defensively, however, the Leeds captain simply wasn’t good enough and to pile on the misery for Marcelo Bielsa, he picked up a late injury.
Ezgjan Alioski 2/10
Ezgjan Alioski once again struggled defensively in the left-back position, where he was completely overrun by the marauding James as well as Marcus Rashford.
Kalvin Phillips 1/10
Kalvin Phillips endured his worst 45 minutes in a long-time as Manchester United took an unassailable 4-1 lead. The midfielder simply wasn’t involved in the game, allowing the opposition to completely dominate the game. Bielsa was quick to identify the weak-link and sub him off at the start of the second half.
Raphinha 5/10
Raphinha had very few opportunities to make his presence felt on the flanks. He did look menacing whenever he had the ball and made some key chances for Leeds this evening. Unfortunately, his team was way too dominated for him to make any telling impact.
Mateusz Klich 3/10
Much like Phillips, Mateusz Klich endured a miserable first-half, when he completely failed to control things. He was effectively subbed off by Bielsa at half-time as the Pole made way for Jamie Shackleton.
Rodrigo Moreno 4/10
Rodrigo Moreno looked lively whenever he was on the ball. However, United’s complete dominance saw him make very minimal touches on the ball.
Jack Harrison 3/10
Jack Harrison was one of the in-form players for Leeds heading into this game. But, he was poor at Old Trafford, struggling to create any real opening and it would perhaps have been a wiser choice for Bielsa to sub him off at the start of the second half, instead of Klich.
Patrick Bamford 3/10
Patrick Bamford was anonymous for the large parts of the game. He came close to scoring once but failed to find the back of the net, as the forward endured a frustrating night.
Substitutes
Jamie Shackleton 3/10
Shackleton replaced Klich in the second half and operated in the right-back position. He marched forward at every given opportunity, thus allowing James to make crucial runs in behind the backline.
Pascal Struijk 2/10
Replacing Phillips in the number six role, Pascal Struijk was awful, to say the least. He conceded the penalty that led to the sixth goal, although it was a pretty soft one.
Leif Davis 4/10
Replaced the injured Cooper during the final phase of the game.
