"I'm so angry we started a derby in this way," Erik ten Hag, exasperated, said off the back of his side's thrilling 2-2 draw against Leeds United.
There was a "very bad start to the game" for Manchester United, as Ten Hag testified. And slow-starting was a theme for United, who ostensibly lost out on a full share of points due to a cumulative four-minute period combing the starts of each half.
"Unacceptable in a derby," Ten Hag said. "You have to be ready to fight and take your responsibilities, which was not the case."
'Fight' was another watchword from Wednesday night's affair. And, to United's credit, they showed character to respond to falling behind after only 55 seconds, then again after conceding again less than three minutes into the second half.
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However, Ten Hag will undoubtedly have felt his side shouldn't have been in a position from which they had to show that sort of fight and resilience against a Leeds side that have struggled to the extent that manager Jesse Marsch was sacked only two days prior.
In charge of Leeds was Chris Armas - Ralf Rangnick's assistant at United last term - alongside Michael Skubala and Paco Gallardo. Tactically, there wasn't much to Leeds' structure. However, they did display an intensity and caused the game too descend into some chaos, making control difficult.
It was testament to Leeds' intensity that they took the lead so early in proceedings. Bruno Fernandes was caught out by Tyler Adams' press, with Pascal Struijk dispossessing the United man. Wilfried Gnonto was able to pick the ball up inside United's defensive third, and a one-two with Patrick Bamford resulted in Gnonto beating David de Gea with precision.
United left too much space for Gnonto to work within, with neither Marcel Sabitzer or Fred adept in a holding midfield role to the extent that the suspended Casemiro is.
There was a sense that United lacked balance in the absence of Casemiro, who has been a pivotal part of their improvements this season. Both Sabitzer and Fred offer industry, but neither were presences like Casemiro.
Sabitzer will likely be a good partner for Casemiro when the Brazilian returns to the fold, with a box-to-box ability involving both a combative side and decent passing ability. The equilibrium offered by Christian Eriksen could be replicated somewhat, but even then Eriksen's unique technical skillset will be a miss.
Fred, by contrast to Sabizter, showed against Leeds that there are shortcomings in terms of quality that diminish his suitability to playing in certain matches and situations; his passing is often inaccurate, and there is an inability to effectively sit deep in a manner similar to Casemiro despite the intensity he can offer when defending.
United undoubtedly struggled in the absence of key players, which is something that likely cannot be entirely improved until the squad is reinforced in the summer, when more of the specific profiles desired by Ten Hag can be acquired.
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There was a good response to falling behind in the early exchanges, with front-footed football played and possession dominated as they sustained pressure, albeit without a sense of total control. Chances were created, but there were issues in terms of their execution.
"If you equalise at half time it's much easier and then you fly," Ten Hag said, displeased. Leeds, who have rarely held leads for an extended period during the campaign so far, did defend well, with Illan Meslier forced to make some important saves.
Alejandro Garnacho replaced the injured Antony, starting on the left flank with Marcus Rashford moved over onto the right. The 18-year-old squandered two good opportunities, including after rounding Illan Meslier and seeing his effort blocked off the line. However, the reaction online to Garnacho missing chances has been blown out of proportion.
He is still only a teenager, and it would be a tough task to find any other player in world football with his expressive nature and level of talent at the age of 18. At such a young age, he is still adapting to playing against grown men too, yet he has shown an ability to torment defenders with his directness - even at times against Leeds.
In any case, it was shown, not for the first time, that it is counterproductive to switch Rashford to the right flank. His directness was diminished when he was less able to cut inside, thus United's biggest attacking threat was left to wane, essentially being played out of position.
Even though his form has wavered, United missed the value of having a natural right-winger starting with Antony injured. Antony is important to United's structure with his ability to hold width on the right, which Rashford didn't do in abundance due to being less natural on that flank. The movement dynamic is also better with wingers playing on their natural sides.
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United missing certain personnel was likely a reason that they couldn't make hay from their reaction to initially falling behind. But there was encouragement that could be drawn from their intensity.
Puzzling was then the fact that they started the second half in such a slack manner - similar to in the first half. Leeds were similarly able to win the ball high up the pitch again, with some naivety from Garnacho, who seemed to stop as he looked for a free-kick for handball after being dispossessed due to possibly not making the simplest decision.
Leeds were able to progress the ball to Gnonto, with Crysencio Summerville making a run into space inside the penalty area before cutting the ball across and forcing Raphael Varane to turn the ball into his own net with little time to react.
Again, it was apparent that there were some disconnects and dysfunctional elements to United amid the absence of some regular features of their side. However, those on the pitch cannot be faulted for the resilience they showed to bounce back.
Ten Hag's timely alterations helped: the introduction of Jadon Sancho and Facundo Pellistri for Alejandro Garnacho and Wout Weghorst changed the dynamic of United's attack for the better. Pellistri offered a more natural outlet on the right, with Rashford offering more dynamism in the striker role, with Weghorst having been nullified into anonymity by Leeds.
There was an instant upturn after Ten Hag's substitutions - made one minute before the hour mark. Ten Hag's decisions were vindicated only three minutes after being made, with Rashford getting a goal back with a header from a cross by the returning Diogo Dalot.
Pellistri was involved in the build-up too, using his body to protect the ball and offload to Dalot after a switch of play by Sabizter.
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Sancho was probably the liveliest player on the pitch following his introduction - a big plus point after recent confidence struggles and issues that saw him absent for three months. Refreshingly, he often looked to take on his man and managed to gain avail from that. He was sharp, and his combination play was also effective as a result.
It was from a piece of interplay with Luke Shaw that United equalised, with Sancho on the scoresheet to the delight of everyone with an affiliation to United - including his manager, whose smile was evident after the goal despite his side not being ahead.
United's front-footed intent was exemplified by Shaw's drive forward on the ball and continued run into the box after playing a one-two with Sancho. There was an element of fortune as Shaw's blocked cross fell to Sancho, but he was creditably in the right position and found a way to finish through a number of bodies and beneath Meslier.
There was a clear return of the expressive, happy Sancho that excelled at Borussia Dortmund. Playing off the left flank, it looked like there was a restored air of confidence to him. His celebration was further evidence of his newfound motivation.
The camaraderie on display was commendable as Sancho was embraced by his teammates. The players again pulled together to face up to adversity, just as against Crystal Palace last weekend.
Ten Hag has revived a sense of personality within the squad that waned last season, with a clear drive to come back and no sign of wilting in the second half on Wednesday. Ultimately, though, despite good levels of invention and 24 shots, United couldn't find a way to breach Meslier and Leeds again after pulling level.
"This is a good team with good character," Ten Hag reinforced. "We played good football, we created many chances, we were not clinical enough."
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The reality was that United were left to chase the game against a resistant Leeds outfit due to lapses within a brief period at the start of each half.
Still, there are plenty of mini victories that Ten Hag will have been able to take away. Sancho's goal signifies a big step in his development, while United again showed grit in a difficult situation (albeit a self-inflicted one).
The comeback wasn't completed to take a complete share of points, but it was a comeback nonetheless - and United struggled to bounce back from leads latterly during the previous campaign.
Blips are natural in the first season under a new manager anyway. But having such a laudable character in the squad is certainly a handy attribute in reducing the effects of such teething problems.
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