Manchester United lost their first match at home under interim boss Michael Carrick on Monday, marking a return to the pitch after 24 days away with a dismal first half, leading to a 2-1 defeat against Leeds United.
It couldn’t have been a worse start, with Leeds scoring just five minutes after kickoff through Noah Okafor, who would make it a brace before the half-hour mark on a spectacular volley. He deserves credit for the goals, and certainly the finish on the second goal, but the fault of United’s
defense also played a big part. United looked like a team that hadn’t played in 24 days, and the flat first half performances from Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte and Noussair Mazraoui only exacerbated the slow start.
United looked to get back in the game quickly. Bruno Fernandes had two opportunities to tee up Benjamin Sesko, but the Leeds defense was faster to the ball than the Slovenian forward, and Amad saw a shot from the edge of the box saved.
United were saved from going 3-0 down just before halftime by a sliding Lisandro Martinez. Tanaka had dribbled around Senne Lammens, ready to walk the ball into the net, when the Butcher came sliding across the face of goal to put the ball out for a corner kick. Lammens followed it up with a save on an attempt by Struijk on the following set piece.
The Reds had a route back in shortly after halftime, with Sesko cutting inside to beat a defender but again failing to get a good shot off, and then disaster struck in the form of the Video Assistant Referee in the 57th minute. Lisandro Martinez was shown a straight red card for violent conduct after catching hold of Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s ponytail, leaving his team shorthanded for the remainder of the contest.
The Reds somehow found new life after the red card, but it was hard-earned by the 10-men. Casemiro showed up to score in the 69th minute. The team as a whole looked as though they’d finally grown into the contest and there was a real opportunity to get something from the match.
Being outmanned led to some scary situations defensively, but it was necessary to continue the push for more. The game was there to be taken, with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha making good efforts to try and pull level going into the final 10 minutes.
Senne Lammens made a huge save in the 77th minute to deny Dominic Calvert-Lewin a goal in what looked a certainty when he connected on the header.
Sesko should have made it 2-2 in the 85th minute, but his header was right at Karl Darlow. It led to another corner, which saw efforts from Casemiro and Ugarte both cleared. The Brazilian midfielder’s header was cleared off the line in a cruel denial of an equalizer.
Leeds would hold on to clinch their first league win at Old Trafford in nearly half a century while the Reds go into Stamford Bridge next weekend in need of a reset.
