Leeds United And Manchester United Draw 1-1 As Cunha Equalises At Elland Road

Manchester United fought back to draw 1-1 with Leeds United in the Premier League, yet failed to climb into the top four. Matheus Cunha scored the leveller at Elland Road after Brenden Aaronson had given Leeds the lead. The result extends Leeds United’s strong run in the league and leaves Manchester United again frustrated by dropped points.

The breakthrough arrived for Daniel Farke’s Leeds United on 62 minutes, after a bright restart. Pascal Struijk slid a precise throughball into space and Aaronson finished calmly into the bottom-right corner. Ruben Amorim reacted immediately, sending on Joshua Zirkzee, who soon squared the ball across goal for Cunha. The Brazilian stretched to steer his finish beyond Lucas Perri.

Before the interval, Manchester

United thought the deadlock was broken after only eight minutes. Casemiro rose to nod a high ball down and Cunha volleyed in from close range, but the assistant’s flag ruled the effort offside. Leeds United then created the best opening of the half when Dominic Calvert-Lewin met a cross with a diving header, which kissed the far post and bounced away.

The closing stages produced further chances for both clubs as the tempo stayed high. Leeds United substitutes Noah Okafor and Joel Piroe each went close, testing Manchester United’s back line. Cunha almost completed a turnaround in the 81st minute, striking the foot of the post. The match ended level, and with it Manchester United’s opportunity to step into the Champions League positions.

Underlying numbers offered little comfort for Ruben Amorim’s team, who generated 1.46 expected goals compared with Leeds United’s 0.92. Manchester United managed 15 attempts but only two efforts on target, underlining wasteful attacking play. Leeds United’s resilience continued a positive run that has eased pressure near the bottom of the table.

Team	Goals	Expected goals (xG)	Total shots	Shots on target	Current unbeaten run
Leeds United	1	0.92	-	-	7 Premier League games
Manchester United	1	1.46	15	2	Drawn 6 of last 11 league games

Leeds United are now unbeaten in seven Premier League fixtures, with two wins and five draws. That sequence has produced 11 points, matching the tally from their first 13 matches of the 2025-26 season, which read three wins, two draws and eight defeats. It is also Leeds United’s longest top-flight unbeaten spell since a 13-game stretch under David O’Leary between May and November 2001.

Aaronson’s influence keeps growing, with two league goals and five total goal involvements in 19 games this season. That already beats the one goal and three assists recorded across 36 Premier League appearances in 2022-23. For Manchester United, the pattern of stalemates continues, with six draws in the last 11 league outings (W3 D2).

The points are shared in Yorkshire. pic.twitter.com/izvWFiUBNBManchester United (@ManUtd) January 4, 2026