"Elland Road is pretty hostile. Leeds fans are noisy but you should also enjoy that."
Roy Keane knows a thing or two about playing at Elland Road but, for the current crop at Manchester United, it was the maiden experience of an away trip to Leeds with fans present. Given evident mentality issues within the squad in recent times, the task to overcome such hostile home support was a significant one.
Every throw in, corner, goal kick, free kick, tackle and pass was greeted with a rousing ovation by the Leeds United faithful. Even though the rain poured on a classic Yorkshire day, those that filled Elland Road were more than up for it. The conditions were perfect for a fixture of such fierce rivalry.
The start from United was tentative, with an early opportunity for Jack Harrison laying down a marker of the home side's intent as the visiting defence found themselves caught out by a slight lapse in focus. It was fair to say those in red were unsettled by the atmosphere created by the opposing fans, with tentativeness promptly developing into some quite frantic moments.
Scott McTominay was someone instantaneously operating within the spirit of the rivalry amidst United's timidity and paradoxically frenetic nature. He left his mark on Robin Koch very early in proceedings, possibly overstepping the mark by colliding with the Leeds man after hurtling towards him before the ball was gone. It was miscalculated from McTominay and consequently 'first blood' to United, literally. It was aggression fit for the fixture but simultaneously slightly clumsy and certainly late. He, and others for alternative reasons, were in need of settling down.
Pragmatism did ensue, with Ralf Rangnick seemingly having sensibly ordered his side to try and slow things down slightly, taking the sting out of things for a brief spell. It was good management but an unsustainable approach given Leeds' reciprocation of the crowd's faultless energy. Lessening the tempo wasn't an option - Leeds wouldn't allow it.
The hosts were playing on the front foot every time they were in possession, even without the ball. They were thriving off the physicality of the game, managing to restrict United's attacking force for a sustained period.
It was, again, Paul Pogba who stepped up when United were in need of someone to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. After starting on the bench in midweek following three successive starts, he returned to the starting side and proved, once more, that he is completely willing to give his all despite a possible summer exit. He quickly grew into the centrepoint, winning his battles and emerging as a controlling figure in the midfield.
Moments after beating Adam Forshaw and creating an essential tap-in that Cristiano Ronaldo somehow squandered, it was more work from Pogba that engineered a shooting opportunity for Bruno Fernandes to win United their 140th corner of the Premier League season. After 139 failed attempts to score, Harry Maguire rose to meet Luke Shaw's delivery, overcoming Diego Llorente's grasp of his shirt to find the net.
It had been a tumultuous week for Maguire in the media with regards to his status in the dressing room so the goal was one of defiance. Defiance of the many, agenda-driven critics. There were no signs of any disharmony in the celebrations.
Red flares were brandished from the away end, with Leeds suddenly on edge as the conditions continued to worsen. It was growing into more and more of a scrap - a proper, old-fashioned encounter.
The pitch at Elland Road was becoming more of a swamp as half time neared but that didn't prevent United from maintaining their newfound flow. It was unorthodoxly Victor Lindelof - keeping his place ahead of Raphael Varane - who broke out from the back to combine with Jadon Sancho down the right flank, with the latter chipping an inch-perfect ball into Fernandes to head beneath Illan Meslier.
The buildup, despite the surface water marring the quality of the pitch, was something to behold. Lindelof offered what the returning Aaron Wan-Bissaka hadn't on an attacking front down the right, whilst Sancho further displayed his dynamism and final third quality to provide his first assist for the club. As for Fernandes, he became the first United player to have scored four goals against Leeds in a single league campaign.
Somewhat a rarity, United had pushed on to score a second goal in prompt fashion before the break - both headers too. In a challenging environment, there was a clear mentality improvement.
By the time the juncture had passed by, the pitch was becoming almost reminiscent of Sunday League. It had become difficult to string together many passages of distinct quality, with toughness in engineering any free-flowing phases of play. It looked as though it would have to take something extraordinary to find the net, with Rodrigo providing just that for Leeds. Intended as a cross, the Spaniard managed to catch David de Gea off guard and find the far side netting to pull a goal back for the hosts after a lethal counter attack.
It was a case of a mishit triggering goalkeeping misfortune. Elland Road was alive again, Leeds were too. 24 seconds later, they were level.
United came stumbling out of the blocks again - second best and shellshocked. Dan James was the provider this time after Forshaw dispossessed a casual Fernandes in United's defensive third, with Raphinha executing another brisk breakaway having run off Luke Shaw and capitalised on a lapse in concentration.
Just as the view was that United had overcome the hurdle of the fear of losing leads, the mental fragility that had previously been present at one goal to the good came to the forefront at two-up. It was a capitulation. The test was only going to worsen too, with the Leeds support reinvigorated and momentum with Marcelo Bielsa's side. Despite the weather and other adversity, the home side were thriving.
United had to restore their sense of authority, hence why it was mystifying to many when Rangnick withdrew Pogba for Fred. However, the United interim manager's decision came to avail within three minutes.
Fernandes recovered possession for United, with Ronaldo dropping deeper to link the play and find Fred. The substitute spread the ball wide to Sancho, overlapping the recipient of the ball to re-receive possession and beat Meslier with composure at his near post.
Fred had played right to Sancho's strength by providing the outside run, with expert awareness on display from Sancho to double his assist count - this time from the left flank. In fact, he could have had a third assist for Anthony Elanga, who had replaced an ineffective Jesse Lingard after his first Premier League start for United in two years. The chance was wasted by Elanga but there was further display of the efficiency of Sancho's directness. Both on the right and the left, the creative juices were flowing.
Although Leeds continued to present hints of attacking threat, United had responded well to the quick double concession. Rangnick's side were not disheartened by the collapse, only further fired up. The factors all led to a classic Premier League encounter.
At times, there were signs of being slightly too fired up. McTominay, after the early incident involving Koch, continued to play in a fitting vein but did occasionally go too far. Flying into a number of challenges, it somehow took nearly 80 minutes for him to get booked; he matched the required physicality but was sometimes slightly rash due to positional lapses - understandable given his inexperience in the lone holding midfield role. Overall, though, he provided an embodiment of what the fixture should mean.
When it appeared Rangnick wanted to see out the game, with Varane replacing Ronaldo in the closing stages, United were sharp to catch Leeds out again. Fred was involved again, firing into Fernandes, who flicked above Pascal Struijk and sent Elanga through to face Meslier again. There was no mistake this time, with Elanga finishing for four and finishing the game off. Fernandes' 'bad' season continued, providing his 21st goal involvement of the campaign. Measly, right?
The response from Elanga after scoring encapsulated his character, shushing the section of Leeds fans that had struck him with a coin after Fred's goal. At full time, he proceeded to stare down the same section of supporters and pointed at the United badge. It was a huge goal - his first since the penalty miss against Middlesbrough in fact.
Harry Maguire let out a roar towards the away fans in the aftermath of the goal, breaking beyond a barrier of stewards to celebrate. There was widespread relief amongst players and fans alike. The war was won. United, in hand, had completed their highest scoring tally in a single season against Leeds. Nine goals in two matches.
United's reaction to the adverse situations within the match were largely down to Rangnick, who's impact cannot be understated. The substitutions seemed strange at the time but were ultimately timely and justified very promptly. The approach, adjusted during the match at times, was well-calculated in a constantly changing match. He was even literally hands-on in the latter stages, deciding to roam onto the pitch to calm tempers when they flared late on.
"We showed maturity and unity," Rangnick said. "In the end, I think we highly deserved to win. The atmosphere was great. Sometimes we tried to cool things down: this is what I did when I went on the pitch - I didn't want any red cards. It was important the way we reacted."
Comments