Manchester United punished for poor start in either half as Leeds United claim draw

Manchester United were held to a 2-2 draw by Leeds United

Manchester United's impressive home run this season continues. However, the Red Devils will feel they could’ve gotten more following Wednesday’s (February 8) 2-2 draw with Leeds United in the Premier League.

Erik ten Hag’s side had a great opportunity to move level on points with second-placed Manchester City but failed to take it after a rather mixed performance.

With Old Trafford anticipating a 14th straight home win, fans were badly let down when Manchester United fell 2-0 behind before the hour mark.

Although they fought their way back to earn a draw, it still felt like a loss for some of the fans, considering Leeds’ poor form going into the game.

Manchester United pay for slow start

Ten Hag has changed a lot since taking charge of Manchester United ahead of the season. One of the key things he’s instilled in the team is awareness and maximum concentration at all times.

These traits, however, seem to have deserted the Reds when they came up against Leeds. It took under a minute for the visitors to open the scoring. Wilfried Gnonto was allowed time and space to beat David de Gea at his near post with a low shot.

If that wasn't bad enough, Manchester United made another slow start to the second half and were punished again. Raphael Varane's own goal made it 2-0 for the Whites after 48 minutes.

The most impressive thing about this Ten Hag team, though, is that it has a fighting spirit and the players fight for each other. That was exactly what happened in the final 30 minutes, with Marcus Rashford halving the deficit before substitute Jadon Sancho leveled the score in the 70th minute.

Manchester United could’ve seized the initiative earlier and wrapped up the game. However, they shot themselves in the foot by starting both halves poorly and were made to pay for it.

Better performance needed in return fixture

Ten Hag and his charges will have another opportunity to right their wrongs when they face Leeds United again on Sunday (February 12), this time at Elland Road.

For a team that wants to cement its place in the top four, the Red Devils cannot afford to slack this time around. They blew away a good chance to catch Manchester City on the table. A similar result could see them drop to fourth, with Newcastle United breathing down their necks. The Magpies are just three points away with a game in hand.

Manchester United v Leeds United - Premier League

For Ten Hag, there is also a dilemma on which line-up to select after some of his choices on Wednesday backfired, although his substitutions saved the day. The Reds boss told Manutd.com after the game:

"Very poor. It's unacceptable. You start any game, but especially a derby, the way we did. We were down and had to fight back. We made big mistakes. That's to do with attitude. We were not ready to go into the duels. We lose the duels and the formation was also bad at the start."

He added:

"When we lost the ball, we didn't follow the principles and were quickly down. And, from the warning in the first half, the second half was the same. I have to make compliments to the team for the resilience and the way they fight back. I think we make some really good football, great chances and, finally, also we finished and scored two great goals."

Manchester United have had a great season so far but they can’t afford to start any game as poorly as they did against Leeds. They must learn the lessons if they’re going to kick on from this disappointing draw.