Rusty Red Devils made to pay for utterly shambolic errors — Mail 13/4/26

Man United 1-2 Leeds United: Rusty Red Devils made to pay for utterly shambolic errors in front of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, writes CHRIS WHEELER - with the writing on the wall for £50m man

By CHRIS WHEELER, NORTHERN SPORTS WRITER

Mankind had successfully travelled around the far side of the moon – and could feasibly have done so again – during the 24-day break since Manchester United last kicked a ball in anger.

Four blank weekends had passed across an international break and a pause for the FA Cup quarter-finals that allowed last night’s opponents Leeds to maintain some match sharpness while United were at a training camp in Dublin.

It’s the kind of interruption that can either allow teams to refresh and refocus on the final leg of the season, or it can knock them off their stride at a crucial point of the campaign.

On a wildly unpredictable night at Old Trafford, United discovered to their cost that it was the latter.

A second defeat in 11 games under head coach Michael Carrick was also their first in 19 league matches at home to the old enemy from across the Pennines since 1981.

How the Leeds fans lapped this up, not least because it was three huge points in their battle against relegation after Noah Okafor struck twice in the first half.

Manager Daniel Farke sank to his knees in celebration at the final whistle after seven minutes of added time, and then joined his players in milking the adulation of the travelling fans. Leeds deserved it.

And what about the other United? After a weekend in which Chelsea and Aston Villa both dropped valuable points in the race for Champions League qualification, this was a chance for them to cement third place and they blew it spectacularly.

It is still well within their grasp, but another slip against top-five rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night will raise some serious questions about their direction of travel. At times here they were utterly shambolic.

It was a bad night for Carrick to preside over such a wretched performance with co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe sat up in the stands, and a bad night for Lisandro Martinez to be sent off on his first appearance since early February for violent conduct after VAR referee John Brooks spotted him pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair.

Martinez only played because Harry Maguire was suspended after his red card at Bournemouth last time out. The Argentine will be banned for three games, and Maguire’s suspension could be extended if he is found guilty of misconduct towards the fourth official at the Vitality Stadium – meaning Carrick may have to rely on a young central defensive partnership of Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven at Chelsea.

Martinez and Yoro struggled against the physicality of Dominic Calvert-Lewin in a way Maguire might not. Carrick was furious the England striker got away with ‘a clear forearm smash to the head’ on Yoro in the build-up to Okafor’s first goal, and equally disgusted over the decision to dismiss Martinez when he tangled with Calvert-Lewin in the second half.

If United missed Maguire, then it was equally true of Kobbie Mainoo who wasn’t risked after picking up a minor knock in training and also sat out his first game under Carrick.

It forced the head coach to start Manuel Ugarte for the first time since he took over. The Uruguayan’s previous nine starts this season had coincided with just one win, and he showed again here why United will have to cut their losses on what has been a £50million mistake.

A Leeds side that had failed to score in their last four Premier League games tore through United’s midfield and threatened to rip their defence apart as well in a first half that ended with a chorus of boos around Old Trafford.

Senne Lammens denied Calvert-Lewin with at point-blank range inside three minutes but the let-off was temporary. Moments later, Ugarte failed to close down Jayden Bogle as he crossed from the other flank. Yoro miscued a header under Calvert-Lewin’s heavy challenge, and the ball landed at the feet of Okafor who instinctively stuck out his right boot to poke the ball home with Lammens stranded.

If the first goal was poor from United’s point of view, the second just before the half-hour mark was an absolute shambles.

Yoro made a great interception to cut out a cross from the right, but Martinez and Casemiro failed to clear the danger in the ensuing mess. The ball dropped invitingly for Okafor whose volley took a heavy deflection off Yoro, again leaving Lammens helpless.

Only Martinez’s last-ditch challenge stopped the excellent Ao Tanaka scoring in an open goal and punishing Lammens for a poor pass on the stroke of half-time.

If United were ragged defensively, they were no better going forward after Carrick picked Benjamin Sesko and kept Bryan Mbeumo on the bench for 70 minutes. Amad Diallo the only bright spark in the first half and the only effort of note came from Matheus Cunhao who was also booked for diving.

Surprisingly, Carrick made no changes at the interval, challenging the starting XI to dig themselves out of the hole they had created for themselves.

But their problems deepened in the 55th minute when Martinez was sent off. It wasn’t immediately apparent when he challenged Calvert-Lewin for a high ball, but Brooks alerted referee Paul Tierney to the fact that Martinez had responded to a flailing arm from the Leeds striker by pulling his hair.

After Karl Darlow saved from Sesko and Cunha, he was beaten in the 69th minute when Bruno Fernandes picked out Casemiro at the far post with another great assist and the Brazilian guided a header inside the far post.

He so nearly got another when Calvert-Lewin cleared his header off the line from Fernandes’ cross, but Leeds were not to be denied a momentous win.