Manchester United were beaten by Leeds United on Monday night, with the game lost after a woeful first 45 minutes at Old Trafford.
After a terrible start, Manchester United were better in the second half, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to stage a comeback.
It was a terrible result for United, which has seen Champions League football remain up in the air ahead of a crucial clash with Chelsea.
As bad as the performance was, Michael Carrick has aimed blame at the officiating, with Lisandro Martinez seeing red for one of the more controversial reasons of the season.
Martinez’s sending off left United with 10 men, and particularly one of his teammates in an impossible position, which he actually flourished in.
Leny Yoro plays for Manchester United
Photo by Mark Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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Michael Carrick reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Leeds United at Old Trafford in 2026 in Manchester, England.
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Leny Yoro thrived after Lisandro Martinez’s red card vs Leeds
Leny Yoro was poor during United’s first half, looking shaky on the ball and, on first glance, weak for the Leeds opener.
But for that goal, Yoro was elbowed in the head, and it shouldn’t have counted as it was a clear foul and much more violent than the instance that saw Martinez sent off.
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Martinez left the pitch, and Carrick decided not to replace him, meaning it was effectively Yoro and Luke Shaw as a back two, with others filling in as and when needed.
It was chaos, with Yoro thriving in his busy role as he ended up having a very successful game defensively with his individual contributions.
15 defensive contributions
5 interceptions
9 clearances
1 blocked shots
8 recoveries
9/12 duels won
92 touches
1 key pass
58/66 passes completed
Yoro held his own and kept United in with a chance at staging a comeback against Leeds, as he almost seemed to relish the increased activity levels he was having to handle.
This level of performance in the Premier League at just 20 is so impressive, and it proves Yoro excelled in a situation that could have gone the complete opposite way.
What did you make of Leny Yoro’s performance vs Leeds?
He seemed to thrive in the chaos of 10-man United
Leny Yoro stats
Getty Images.
Manchester United fans are too harsh on Yoro
Despite Yoro’s positive contributions, United fans were less than impressed, as he was instead slammed.
Yoro is written off so quickly by some supporters, potentially due to his price tag, which he had no control over, with Ayden Heaven looking every bit as good for 1/50th of the price.
But taking that circumstance away, Yoro has been excellent for a 20-year-old in a relatively new league, given his lack of games under Ruben Amorim, and now in a new position under Carrick with a system change.
Every week, he looks more assured and comfortable on the ball and off the ball, and despite some scary moments against Leeds, on the whole, he deserves a lot of credit.
Yoro does things right 8/10 times at the moment, which is a strong ratio considering his youth and where he was 12 months ago. The issue is that his 2/10 moments often lead to goals.
But writing off Yoro right now is a ridiculous move from supporters.
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