A terrible night for a relegation-threatened team who play in white. Although that team, admittedly, is Tottenham Hotspur. For Leeds United, this was a seminal, spectacular evening; a historic one, too, though even the significance of a first league win at Old Trafford since 1981 felt less immediate than the growing probability they will stay up.
But for Michael Carrick and Manchester United, even a rousing attempt at a rescue act could not alter the combination of a wretched first half and a dreadful result. It was compounded by the consequences, with Lisandro Martinez’s comeback short-lived as he was sent off for grabbing Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair. Just when it seemed they were certainties to qualify for the Champions League, Manchester United contrived to inject an element of doubt. Carrick lost his 100 per cent record at Old Trafford as United manager. The danger is the favourite to become the permanent manager loses rather more than that.
