Luke Ayling won more duels and made more tackles during the 2-2 draw against Manchester United than any other Leeds United player has managed in a league match for more than four years. The Leeds man admitted after the full-time whistle that although his side were disappointed to give away a two-goal lead, there were still plenty of positives to be had.
Wilfried Gnonto's wonder-strike after just 55 seconds was followed by a second-half Raphael Varane own goal to give the Whites a two-goal cushion at Old Trafford for the first time in nearly 50 years. Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho would eventually prevent Leeds from claiming all three points, but the performance from the team left the fans with much to be excited about.
Individually, Ayling won a staggering 17 duels, the most by any Leeds player in a league game for more than four years. His 12 tackles in the match was a Premier League high going back to December 2018 (via Opta Stats).
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Speaking after the game, Ayling admitted that he was proud of the performance from his side in the wake of Jesse Marsch's departure and looked at the positives of taking a point away from Old Trafford.
"We played so well to go 2-0 up and then to let two goals in is always disappointing," Ayling told LUTV. "But we know that we’re going to come to a place like this [Old Trafford] and it’s going to be hard and in the end, with the pressure we had, you’ve got to look at it as a good point.
"It felt like a really good game, there was a lot of chances for both teams. I felt like we kept our shape really well and sprang when he had the chance. There were probably some occasions where we could have made a bit more from them.
"But the boys are really pleased with that performance. It’s been a really hard week with everything that’s gone on but the boys showed their spirit tonight.
"Fair play to [Michael] Skubala and the staff who set up a game plan. The boys know we have got ourselves in this situation and now it’s down to us to get ourselves out of it and I think it’s a good start tonight, it’s a really good point."
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