MARCUS Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho scored late goals to earn Manchester United a 2-0 Premier League victory at Leeds United today.
The win propelled Manchester United to second place in the table temporarily above Manchester City, who face Aston Villa later today.
Manchester United and Leeds United played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Old Trafford on Wednesday, with the hosts needing to come back from two goals down, but today was a much less fluid contest.
The first half saw a lot of intensity and frenetic action, but there was little quality, with both teams struggling to put together flowing moves.
Visitors Manchester United started with a changed backline, fielding Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw in central defence, and leaving Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez on the bench.
The defence ended up with a clean sheet on goalkeeper David de Gea’s 400th appearance for the club, but there were nervous moments, with captain Maguire the chief culprit.
United began to gain some control after manager Erik ten Hag made some tactical changes, bringing on Martinez and Garnacho, and deploying Rashford as the centre forward.
The opening goal came in the 80th minute after a smart switch of play by Marcel Sabitzer freed up Luke Shaw, whose pinpoint cross was headed home by Rashford.
The England forward has scored 13 goals in 15 appearances since the Qatar 2022 World Cup, more than any other player in Europe’s major leagues.
Garnacho made the points safe five minutes later with a brilliant run and finish to secure United’s sixth away win of the Premier League season.
