Manchester United’s commendable response, which neutralized a two-goal deficit, only served to avoid defeat to Leeds (2-2), who started another leg, without American Jesse Marsch on the bench, with a better image but without the triumph that has held him back since last November.
The draw between red and white at the end of the Old Trafford clash was insufficient for both. Erik Ten Hag’s team missed Casemiro, who will be in the Europa League against Barcelona in a week and lost one of the last options to participate in the race for the Eredivisie title.
A win would have put him level with City, just five points behind the leaders. But after the draw, United are two games clear of Pep Guardiola’s Spanish side, who also have one game less, and seven games clear of Arsenal, with two to play.
It doesn’t lighten the prospects for Leeds either with the 2-2. With Michael Skubala on the bench, assisted by Paco Gallardo and Chris Armas, he has already gone eight games without winning. And it is only one point behind the relegation that marks Everton. Nothing has improved for the Whites, who started with an advantage from the first minute of the game, when a ball from Bruno Fernandes reached Wilfried Gnonto who made a pass with Patrick Bamford and executed an accurate shot from the edge of the box that went past David de Gea.
Alejando Garnacho and Marcel Sabitzer managed to equalize, but both times goalkeeper Illan Meslier was out.
The network panorama deteriorated at the start of the second half where they faced a certain inattention which the visitors took advantage of. Gnonto started the action. He sent the ball to Crysencio Summerville who doubled it on the left, reached the back line, crossed and the ball hit Raphael Varane who shot the ball into his own net.
United accelerated. He ran against the clock and the marker. And the comeback was close. On the hour mark, a cross from the right into the penalty area from Diego Dalot was completed with a Marcus Rashford header that closed the gap. Leeds managed to extend their lead, but Brendan Aaronson’s free kick hit the post.
The Ten Hag team finished 70, in full local avalanche. It was Jadon Sancho who had a lot to do with the improvement of his side, in a combination with Luke Shaw that resulted in a good shot in the box.
United managed to win and tried to take advantage of the remaining twenty minutes to stage a comeback that never came.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
