Daniel Farke wasn't having it that Leeds United were the favourites for this game but there was nothing he could do about the level of expectation around his club going into it.
Last season Leeds drew this fixture 1-1 and then in April claimed their first league win at Old Trafford since 1981. Being truly competitive in the Premier League in both the post-promotion campaign and so far this term allowed supporters not only to dream of Elland Road glory on Sunday afternoon but perhaps even to expect it. Throw in the narrative surrounding the visitors given all that has transpired there of late and at the very least it felt like a big chance.
Yet if reality was to meet expectation, the first half did not make it immediately obvious. A frenetic first few minutes was as anticipated. Ethan Ampadu, leading the team out for the 100th time as captain, was at the heart of an aggressive start. He set the tone by levelling Carlos Baleba to concede one free-kick, then caught Bryan Mbeumo on the ankle to concede another, somehow without seeing yellow.
Neither Bruno Fernandes nor Gabriel Gudmundsson got away with their early transgressions, however. So it was tetchy and fractious, but the play that was punctuated by fouls was largely in the home side's favour. Leeds saw plenty of the ball, some of it in the opposition territory, and though there were dangerous-looking deliveries into the box, only Nico Elvedi's header - saved by Senne Lammens - threatened to open the scoring.
At the other end Mbeumo arrived completely unmarked to head Youri Tielemans' scooped cross past James Trafford's left-hand post. It was a let-off as much as a warning but there was very little between the teams in a first half full of huffing and puffing and largely devoid of magic.
#expectation #post #largely
Last season Leeds drew this fixture 1-1 and then in April claimed their first league win at Old Trafford since 1981. Being truly competitive in the Premier League in both the post-promotion campaign and so far this term allowed supporters not only to dream of Elland Road glory on Sunday afternoon but perhaps even to expect it. Throw in the narrative surrounding the visitors given all that has transpired there of late and at the very least it felt like a big chance.
Yet if reality was to meet expectation, the first half did not make it immediately obvious. A frenetic first few minutes was as anticipated. Ethan Ampadu, leading the team out for the 100th time as captain, was at the heart of an aggressive start. He set the tone by levelling Carlos Baleba to concede one free-kick, then caught Bryan Mbeumo on the ankle to concede another, somehow without seeing yellow.
Neither Bruno Fernandes nor Gabriel Gudmundsson got away with their early transgressions, however. So it was tetchy and fractious, but the play that was punctuated by fouls was largely in the home side's favour. Leeds saw plenty of the ball, some of it in the opposition territory, and though there were dangerous-looking deliveries into the box, only Nico Elvedi's header - saved by Senne Lammens - threatened to open the scoring.
At the other end Mbeumo arrived completely unmarked to head Youri Tielemans' scooped cross past James Trafford's left-hand post. It was a let-off as much as a warning but there was very little between the teams in a first half full of huffing and puffing and largely devoid of magic.
#expectation #post #largely
1 day ago
