Manchester United 6-2 Leeds United: 5 Talking Points as Red Devils humble fierce rivals at Old Trafford | Premier League 2020-21

Manchester United v Leeds United - Premier League
Manchester United v Leeds United - Premier League

#3 Leeds United refused to go down without a fight

Manchester United v Leeds United - Premier League
Manchester United v Leeds United - Premier League

Leeds United have only themselves to blame for the maddening 4-1 scoreline before the interval, as they afforded the hosts a lot of space in the middle of the park to create chances at will. They were unfortunate to have gone two goals behind within three minutes but recovered well from the early setback to call Manchester United defenders into action on the counter.

The visitors matched Manchester United for shots in the first half, but only two of them were on target. Striker Patrick Bamford missed an early chance to half their deficit from Rodrigo's cross and later had a goal disallowed for offside.

They continued to search for counter-attacking opportunities and refused to let the early goals stop them from playing their game. Bielsa's side finally got a goal in the 42nd minute but went on to concede on the counter again in the second half as they pushed high in the hope of scoring goals.

Stuart Dallas scored a peach of a goal in the 62nd minute, as the visitors showed a lot of heart despite trailing by four goals for the majority of the game.


#2 Manchester United continue to win penalties at will

Manchester United v Leeds United - Premier League
Manchester United v Leeds United - Premier League

Manchester United were awarded another penalty this season when Anthony Martial was brought down in the box by Struijk. By all means, it was a soft penalty. Nonetheless, it provided them with another opportunity to put the icing on the cake.

Bruno Fernandes stepped up and made no mistake in converting from the spot as he scored his second goal of the night in the 70th minute with his trademark hop, skip and jump penalty.

This was the 32nd penalty have been awarded to the Red Devils since the start of last season, which is the most any team across Europe's top five leagues has received in that period.


#1 Leeds United have now conceded more goals in the league than any other side

Manchester United v Leeds United - Premier League
Manchester United v Leeds United - Premier League

Leeds United became the first side to ship in 30 goals in the Premier League this season. It is surprising to note that despite having the worse defensive record in the league, they are seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Marcelo Bielsa's side have played with an attack-at-all-costs kind of football this season and have scored 24 times as a result. This tactic of a fast-paced attacking game works out against teams with a weaker midfield and slow forwards, but it did not work against a Manchester United side that deployed two strong defensive midfielders.

Although we did not expect to Bielsa to change his tactics, he might want to work on their effectiveness in the final third, as they could only score twice from 17 shots on target.


Also See: 5 Reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo will win the Player of the Century Award ahead of Messi

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Edited by Vishal Subramanian
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