Man Utd Player Ratings vs. Leeds: Red Devils Stop the Rot at Elland Road

Manchester United were held to a point by historic rivals Leeds United at Elland Road on Sunday, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin canceled out Bryan Mbuemo’s opener.

Michael Carrick entered this fixture firmly in the hot seat after a woeful showing against Tottenham Hotspur was followed by defeat in the Champions League at Atlético Madrid. Lisandro Martínez’s postmatch comments all but confirmed United’s state of crisis, and many believed they were underdogs in West Yorkshire, given the impressive start to the season Leeds have made.

Daniel Farke’s side were beaten for the first time this term at Arsenal last weekend, yet they were made to work incredibly hard for a point against the Red Devils. In a throwback affair laden with grit, Man Utd competed fiercely and were good value for their first-half lead.

However, Leeds enjoyed waves of momentum that the visitors struggled to stymie, and Calvert-Lewin is proving inevitable in front of goal at Elland Road. He drew Leeds level from a messy corner sequence, and although there was plenty of time left in the game, both teams seemed pretty content with a point apiece.

There was an absence of big chances late in the game, and Carrick’s side will return to Manchester with something to build on.

Heroes and Villains

Hero

Play Bryan Mbeumo centrally, and he will deliver.

The Cameroon international has spent much of the season to date shunted out wide, forced to create separation one-on-one all while limiting his touches in the opposition’s box. It’s not his game.

He worked superbly in tandem with Ivan Toney at Brentford, with the pair particularly proficient on the counterattack, and while his potency in transition has manifested only sporadically in Manchester, Mbeumo has shown that he possesses canny instincts in front of goal.

He missed a gilt-edged chance with his head from an excellent Youri Tielemans delivery, but atoned soon after. The previous mishap was no deterrent for Mbeumo, who finished ever so cleverly from another Tielemans cross, opening up his foot to steer the ball past James Trafford and into the corner.

This wasn’t exactly a standout performance from Man Utd’s goalscorer, who looked dazed and confused during Leeds’ goal sequence, yet the Cameroonian’s strike ultimately meant a result was earned at Elland Road.

Villain

Man Utd were pretty impressive as a collective in a tough environment, with Leeds evolving into Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United when they dazzled the Premier League with their marauding center backs in 2019–20.

Carrick should thus be content with a point, even if a lead was surrendered, but United’s gritty result was claimed despite the efforts of their captain.

Bruno Fernandes loves playing against Leeds, yet the very worst of the Portuguese came to play on Sunday afternoon. He was petulant and argumentative, even castigating teammates for making the right decision (see his reaction toward Tielemans after Mbeumo headed his delightful cross wide).

He’s performing as if he knows he’s in a rut, trying to do too much to rediscover his best. At the moment, Fernandes’s apex appears a million miles away.

Man Utd Player Ratings vs. Leeds (3-4-2-1)

GK: Senne Lammens—7.0: Wasn’t much he could’ve done to prevent Calvert-Lewin from restoring parity. While Leeds enjoyed bright spells, they failed to work Man Utd’s goalkeeper.

CB: Leny Yoro—6.9: The young Frenchman is certainly growing in comfort, even if he was asked to perform a different role here. Yoro had no issues defending space as one of the wide center backs in Man Utd’s back three.

CB: Harry Maguire—7.5: There was again no clean sheet for the visitors, although Maguire did deal with Leeds’ distinct threat from crosses rather well.

CB: Lisandro Martínez—6.1: The Argentine remained in the team despite his outburst on Tuesday, but he was only in the limelight for 45 minutes. Martínez was withdrawn at halftime, likely due to injury.

RWB: Amad Diallo—7.2: There‘s no doubting that Man Utd have a better attacking balance when Amad starts down the right. The Ivorian wasn’t overly active at Elland Road, but he did have a hand in the opening goal.

CM: Carlos Baleba—6.8: While Baleba is a hugely important figure in Man Utd’s midfield, he does lack a bit of refinement both in and out of possession. His first Premier League start for the club lasted 73 minutes.

CM: Andrey Santos—6.7: A performance that typified Santos as a player. He’s neat and tidy, rather inoffensive. Nothing spectacular.

LWB: Diogo Dalot—8.2: Dalot was asked to get up and down to supply a source of width down the left. Reliable in all phases, offering thrust in transition.

AM: Youri Tielemans—7.7: Crucially, his flaws were masked and strengths enhanced. Tielemans was impressive, especially during Man Utd’s bright first-half spell when he set up the opening goal.

AM: Bruno Fernandes—6.9: Fernandes has an excellent record in this fixture, but Man Utd’s captain cut a frustrated figure at Elland Road for the majority. Booked in the opening period for a late challenge.

ST: Bryan Mbeumo—7.1: Man Utd’s goalscorer was dogged without the ball and is such a clever operator in and around the opposition’s box. His movement troubled Leeds’ backline all afternoon, particularly in the first half.

SUB: Noussair Mazraoui (46’ for Martínez)—7.3: Overcame a poor start and produced a couple of crucial defensive interventions late on.

SUB: Mason Mount (74’ for Baleba)—6.9: Fluffed his lines once or twice.

SUB: Matheus Cunha (84’ for Tielemans)—N/A

Subs not used: Karl Darlow (GK), Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Amass, Shea Lacey, Joshua Zirkzee, Marcus Rashford.

What the Ratings Tell Us

Michael Carrick curiously turned to Ruben Amorim’s playbook in a time of need, yet he was finally able to get a tune out of Youri Tielemans. The Belgian’s flaws out of possession had been laid bare during the first six weeks of the season, so Carrick used the midfielder in a more advanced role, where his struggles in recovery would be less noticeable. Tielemans was instead the leader of Man Utd’s press, and able to take the creative burden off the out-of-sorts Bruno Fernandes. Tielemans’s movement in the right half-space was crafty throughout, and his delivery for the opening goal was pinpoint.

While plenty have found it remarkable that Man Utd haven’t even made a concerted effort to upgrade Diogo Dalot in recent windows, the Portuguese does tend to offer the odd reminder why he’s been backed by multiple Red Devils managers. This was one of those occasions when Dalot looked more than merely competent. The Portuguese international had a tough job down Man Utd’s left, given Leeds’ rotations down that flank, yet he stuck at his task superbly well and was also able to trouble the hosts with a run or two in transition.

The Numbers That Explain Man Utd’s Elland Road Point

Carrick’s switch to a back five did see Man Utd willing to cede territory and control, meaning Leeds ended with a lion’s share of possession (61%). This one-off ploy is unlikely to garner much favor at Old Trafford, but it did the trick here.

The Red Devils’ attacking threat waned as the match wore on. In the second half, the visitors tallied just 0.25 xG and had one shot on target.

Carrick’s team was again outrun, with Leeds covering almost 2.5 miles more than the Red Devils.