Manchester United suffered a shocking 2-1 home defeat to relegation-battling Leeds United at Old Trafford, their first league loss to the visitors since 1981. Noah Okafor’s early brace propelled Daniel Farke’s side to victory in United’s first match in 24 days.
Blistering Start Seals United’s Fate
Okafor struck twice inside the opening 29 minutes, giving Leeds a commanding lead. United struggled to respond, and the situation worsened when Lisandro Martinez received a red card for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair while chasing an equalizer. Casemiro later pulled one back with a header from Bruno Fernandes’ cross at the far post, but it wasn’t enough to spark a comeback.
Keane Delivers Scathing Midfield Critique
Roy Keane lambasted United’s midfield pairing of Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte, calling their performance “non-existent.” Speaking on Sky Sports, Keane said: “They’ll be disappointed. They’ve had a lot of momentum over the last few months, [there’s been] a lot of praise for the manager. There’s obviously been concerns going into the game that they haven’t played for a number of weeks. But the manager, Carrick, said that shouldn’t be a problem, they’ve had a training camp.”
He added: “But it was the way that they started the game – you start the game that slowly and it’s hard to recover. And they didn’t in the first half. And what you’ve got to do in this game – we saw Man City do it in the second half yesterday – you’ve got to run! They weren’t sprinting, United. And the bit at the end was too little too late. It’s a big setback for them. Midfield? Non-existent, the two of them, particularly in the first half, no energy, no quality. Leeds were out of the blocks quickly and it was a fantastic result for Leeds.”
Carrick Points to Referee Decisions
Manager Michael Carrick introduced Manuel Ugarte, standing in for the injured Kobbie Mainoo, alongside Casemiro. Despite the sluggish start, Carrick focused on referee Paul Tierney’s calls in his post-match comments. He highlighted a foul on Leny Yoro by Calvert-Lewin before Okafor’s opener and disputed Martinez’s dismissal.
“We didn’t start the game particularly well. We conceded, which came after Leny Yoro got a forearm smash in the back of his head,” Carrick stated. “They didn’t decide to overturn that, which was a big moment in the game. We didn’t quite have the rhythm, we didn’t click. We had some moments but it wasn’t there for large parts of the half.”
He continued: “I thought the boys stayed positive and fought for everything in the second half, after a shocking decision to send Licha [Martinez] off. That’s two games in a row we’ve had those decisions go against us, but that one was one of the worst I’ve seen.”
The loss marks only United’s second defeat in 11 matches under Carrick, but it represents a major setback after building momentum.
