Leeds United 1–1 Manchester United: Cunha cancels out Aaronson in feisty draw | OneFootball

Manchester United and Leeds United played out a hard-fought draw at Elland Road, with goals from Brenden Aaronson and Matheus Cunha ensuring the points were shared.

The result leaves Manchester United in fifth place in the Premier League standings, while Leeds United moved eight points clear of the relegation zone in 16th.

As it happened

A feisty first half saw Manchester United start on the front foot, enjoying the bulk of possession, although Leeds United looked dangerous whenever they moved the ball forward.

Leny Yoro went close to scoring his first Premier League goal for United, with his header from a Luke Shaw corner narrowly missing the target. Leeds’ best chance of the half fell to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, whose header struck the post and would have sent both sides into the break level at 0-0.

Calvert-Lewin went close again early in the second half, only for a United defender to block his effort at close range.

Gabriel Gudmundsson then forced a save from Senne Lammens, with his effort pushed behind for a Leeds corner. United dealt with the delivery and broke quickly on the counter, ending with Manuel Ugarte firing wide.

Leeds enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening ten minutes after the restart and continued to press, with Sesko seeing a sight of goal before being flagged offside. Yoro stood firm at the back for United, while Lammens produced a superb reaction save from a corner, tipping Calvert-Lewin’s point-blank header over the bar. Another Stach corner caused problems, taking a touch off Lammens before being cleared, but the resulting set-piece came to nothing.

United’s defending in the second half was resolute, repeatedly denying Leeds despite sustained pressure. However, the breakthrough came when Aaronson capitalised on a defensive lapse from Ayden Heaven, slotting past Lammens to give the hosts the lead.

The response from United was swift, with Leeds caught napping at the back as Cunha calmly slid the ball into the net to restore parity.

Leeds nearly regained the lead when a long throw from Gudmundsson fell to Noah Okafor, who attempted an audacious overhead kick. Although the contact was not clean, the effort drifted toward the far post before Lammens scrambled across to tip it over the bar.

Possession remained evenly contested, with United holding a slight edge. Sesko came close to putting the visitors ahead after a low pass across the box from Joshua Zirkzee, but his effort went wide.

Cunha continued to impress, showing confidence and nearly grabbing a second for United, though the offside flag intervened.

Substitute Joël Piroe almost snatched a late winner for Leeds after replacing Aaronson, but his effort sailed just over the bar.

The match ended 1–1, a hard-fought draw that showcased strong defending, moments of attacking quality, and fine goalkeeping from both sides.

Up next, Manchester United travel to Lancashire to face Burnley at Turf Moor on Wednesday evening, while Leeds head north to take on Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

The Line ups

LEE: Perri; Justin, Bornauw, Bijol, Struijk, Gudmundsson; Gruev, Stach, Aaronson; Okafor, Calvert-Lewin