April 13th, remember the date!
Tuesday, 14th Apr 2026 16:57 by Tim Whelan
On a superb night for Leeds fans everywhere, we produced our best performance of the season to beat Manchester United on their own patch for the first time in the league since 1981, with every man in our team being absolutely magnificent.
On paper this was our hardest fixture of the last seven, and I must admit that before the start I thought that anything we took from it would be a bonus, as I was looking to other games for the points we need to keep us out of the dreaded bottom three. But the team had other ideas, and they took the game to the hosts right from the start.
Much as Man U would moan about Mainoo and 50p head missing the game (the latter through suspension anyway), Daniel Farke had two enforced changes to make, with Stach and Rodon out through injuries sustained in the cup tie. Thankfully Gudmundsson had recovered from his own fitness problems to take his place on the left, and allow Justin to move into the centre.
Darlow was restored as the league keeper, but it was a bit of a surprise to see Tanaka replacing Stach. I thought Gruev would get the nod to give the defence a bit more protection, but the opening stages clearly showed that Farke thought we could do a lot more in this game than just sitting back to absorb pressure, and we were at them right from the kick-off.
Okafor played Gudmundsson in on the left, and the Swede sent over the first of many dangerous crosses from the flank. But Calvert-Lewin had to stretch to meet it, so he couldn’t get the direction he needed, and Lammens was able to block with his legs. But only a few minutes later Leeds were to get the early breakthrough.
This time the move came down the right, and Calvert-Lewin’s arm made contact with Yoro as he went up for the header. It certainly wasn’t the ‘forearm smash’ that Carrick was to claim in his post-match rant, but was enough to ensure that Yoro couldn’t get the distance he needed on his clearing header.
So it fell kindly for Okafor, and the Swiss made no mistake in diverting the ball past Lammens into the net. After that explosive start there were signs of the hosts getting back into the game as the play settled down, though Okafor and Gudmundsson were still combining well one the left flank whenever we came forward, and on 29 minutes we went further in front.
The move began with another move that the home fans wil moan about, with Ferdnandez collapsing in a heap after he was tackled by Ampadu. But our captain had clearly won the ball, and we felt no need to stop for Bruno to get treatment, playing the ball out to the right to build an attack while the home fans were whistling their disapproval.
Calvert-Lewin couldn’t quite get to Bogle’s cross, but Casemiro was disposed by Aaronson as they tried to play out. The American’s shot was blocked, but the home side still couldn’t clear their lines, and as the ball came to Okafor he controlled the ball with his chest before trying a shot, and that took a deflection to leave Lammens with no chance.
A third goal before half time would have really killed the game off, and it very nearly came just before the interval. A poor clearance from Lammens put Yoro under pressure, and Tanaka nipped in to get to his flick on ahead of Casimero. As Ao went round the keeper he seemed certain to score, but a slightly heavy touch meant it took him a bit longer to get his shot away, giving Martinez the chance to fling himself along the goal line to make the block.
Then Struijk was allowed a free header from the resulting corner, and he met it well enough but sent it too close to Lammens, allowing the keeper to make the save. Soon after we had the delightful sound of the Old Trafford faithless booing their own side off at half time! And it makes a change for a rival manager to get pelters for not making changes sooner when it’s not working.
It was a surprise that the same Man United eleven came out for the second period, but Carrick must at least have given them a stiff talking to, as they seemed to be a bit more determined after the break. For most of the game Bijol did a great job on his fellow countryman Sesko, but for once Sesko got through with a nutmeg.
Darlow was quickly off his line to make the save, but the ball looped up in the air after, and it would have dropped in if Justin hadn’t raced back quickly to head the ball over the bar. But just when it looked like the hosts were building some momentum, they were stopped in their tracks as Martinez was sent off on 55 minutes.
Calvert-Lewin backed into Martinez as the pair competed to get to Darlow’s long kick downfield, with the Man U player pulling our man’s hair bobble in response. And as per the current Premier League interpretation of the laws that is deemed to be violent conduct, and a compulsory red card. To be honest I was quite embarrassed to benefit from a ruling like that, having grown up watch football in the 70s, but that’s the way it is these days.
If you don’t pull anyone’s hair you don’t need to worry about that particular guideline. Perhaps all our players should grow their hair, to increase the chances of someone on the other side getting sent off! As the hosts tried to recover from this setback we started to stretch their ten men by keeping possession, with each pass greeted by an ‘ole’ from the boisterous Leeds section of the crowd.
But I was cursing Gudmundsson for trying a shot from a difficult angle in our next attack, as he sent the ball beyond the far post with Calvert-Lewin in the centre. After that Man United started to wake up, and if anything they started to play better while being a man down, as they looked to find a way back into the game.
Cunha got between three of our defenders to meet a long ball from Shaw, and did well to bring it down and get his shot away. But Darlow was equal to it, making a fine save at the expense of a corner. On 69 minutes Carrick finally did make a couple of changes to give them a bit more of an attacking threat, and almost immediately they pulled a goal back.
A corner was headed out, but only as far a Fernandez, who spotted that Casimero was unmarked beyond the far post, and picked him out with a precise cross. And the Brazilian made no mistake with his powerful header, sending it beyond Darlow into the opposite corner of the net.
Farke responded by making a couple of changes of his own, and with Tanaka having taken a knock, Gruev came on to protect the lead we had, and Okafor was replaced by Gnonto to freshen things up. By now our passing was a little more conservative, with the emphasis on keeping the ball, but we did come close as the game moved into the last 15 minutes.
A series of passes around the box ended with Calvert-Lewin racing in to meet Bogle’s cross, and he would have scored had he sent it anywhere other than straight at Lammens. We could have done with a goal to get back to a two goal margin, and I was cursing that we’d missed so many chances, convinced that with our habit of conceding late goals they were bound to get an equaliser.
It was one of those games when you would gladly take a point before kick-off, but then after leading for so much of it you’ll be furious if we don’t win. But this time we responded well to being put under pressure, with our eleven men retreating to get behind the ball, and even Calvert-Lewin dropping back for some excellent defensive work.
Six minutes of Carrick time were announced, and Darlow did well to keep out a firm header from Sesko. But he was beaten when Casimero got to the resulting corner to, but Calvert-Lewin was perfectly placed to head the ball off the line. And he was there again to make another block when the ball came back to Ugarte.
With all our defenders holding firm, we kept them at bay until the final whistle, and Daniel Farke sank to his knees in celebration, before the whole squad made their way over to the Leeds section of the crowd, to take the well deserved cheers of our delighted fans. What a night!
Not just a win over our dearest rivals, but a result that takes us up to 36 points, and six points ahead of Spurs in 18th place. If we can beat Wolves on Saturday we might have just about have sealed our place in the Premier league for next season, and give ourselves the luxury of concentrating on the semi-final. What a month it’s been so far!
Reuters
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