Rashford goal sets Man Utd on way to win at Leeds

Manchester United scored twice in the final 10 minutes at Elland Road to leave manager-less Leeds deep in relegation trouble.

Substitute Alejandro Garnacho then outpaced the home defence before beating Meslier at his near post to the obvious joy of manager Erik ten Hag on the touchline.

The result was harsh on Leeds, who created a number of decent opportunities but could not beat visiting goalkeeper David de Gea.

It also turns the focus on football director Victor Orta, who is responsible for bringing in a replacement for Jesse Marsch, who was sacked last week.

Chief executive Angus Kinnear, who sat next to Orta in the directors’ box, pointed out in his programme notes that he understands the importance of a prompt replacement for Marsch, not least because chairman Andrea Radrizzani suggested last Tuesday it was imminent.

That work continues knowing if Everton win Monday’s Merseyside derby at Anfield, Leeds will drop into the bottom three.

Leeds fans’ song spoils atmosphere

For almost 45 minutes, the atmosphere was by some distance the best bit of an afternoon crackling with tension but lacking in quality.

Sadly, the electricity around the stadium took on a more sinister tone just before the break when a sizeable section of the Leeds fans to the left of the stand behind De Gea’s goal sang the ‘Munich’ song, about the Manchester United air crash in 1958 which resulted in the death of 23 passengers, including eight players.

On the pitch, in stoppage time before the interval, Meslier produced an excellent feet-first save to deny Bruno Fernandes, who had run beyond the Leeds defence after blocking Max Wober’s intended pass.

From the subsequent corner, the ball bounced off Luke Ayling and narrowly wide of the far post, with Rashford inches away from being able to convert.

It was thoroughly in keeping with the general mood around Elland Road that Jadon Sancho and Tyrrell Malacia were the subject of ferocious, but fair, early Leeds tackles.

Ayling and Malacia had a grabbing match as the Leeds man kept hold of the ball when his opponent tried to snatch it from him to take a quick throw, and Leeds duo Junior Firpo and Weston McKennie and Manchester United’s Fred were all booked as referee Paul Tierney tried to regain control.

Leeds in danger at the bottom

Despite the complaints of Ten Hag after the meeting between these sides on Wednesday, when United came back from two goals down to draw 2-2, the visitors one again did not start the game well.

And they were fortunate not to concede at the opening of the second half when Crysencio Summerville brought a low save out of De Gea, Jack Harrison prodded a shot narrowly wide of the near post and Ayling’s effort deflected off Shaw.

It was the prelude to a more positive contest on the pitch as the second period also contained Diogo Dalot crashing a shot against the bar from the edge of the area and Ayling sending an overhead kick straight at De Gea, who also turned away a Summerville shot heading for the far corner.

In the end though, it was the visitors who had the extra touch of class to take them seven points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham in the battle for a Champions League spot.

Leeds’ worries at the other end of the table are far more acute.

They have now gone nine games without a win, equalling their worst run in the top flight league since the rebranded Premier League was launched in 1992, and taken just 12 points from their last 19 matches.

With matches to come against Everton and Southampton, both currently in the bottom three, they badly need to identify a replacement for Marsch after hitting a brick wall in their attempts to lure Andoni Iraola from Rayo Vallecano and Carlos Corberan from West Brom.

Player of the match

RashfordMarcus Rashford

Leeds United

1. Squad number10Player nameSummerville

2. Squad number2Player nameAyling

3. Squad number29Player nameGnonto

4. Squad number1Player nameMeslier

5. Squad number12Player nameAdams

6. Squad number11Player nameHarrison

7. Squad number5Player nameKoch

8. Squad number28Player nameMcKennie

9. Squad number39Player nameWöber

10. Squad number3Player nameFirpo

11. Squad number7Player nameAaronson

12. Squad number9Player nameBamford

13. Squad number42Player nameGreenwood

14. Squad number24Player nameRutter

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