LONDON, England, January 4, 2026 – Manchester United’s poor run of form continued at Elland Road but head coach Ruben Amorim had Matheus Cunha to thank for his side not suffering even more damage against Leeds.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed a first-half effort against the post for the in-form hosts before Brenden Aaronson finished superbly with a low, 62nd-minute effort.
At that stage, Amorim was in the firing line after his side had failed to beat bottom-of-the-table Wolves at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
However, against opponents who had two days less to prepare, Cunha levelled three minutes later when he ran on to a pass from substitute Joshua Zirkzee and slid a shot underneath advancing Leeds goalkeeper Lucas Perri.
It was only the Brazilian’s fourth goal since his £62.5m summer move from Wolves and came at a time when Amorim is without four key attacking players because of a combination of injury and international duty.
Not that Leeds will care about that given their lack of preparation time.
Noah Okafor forced a full length save out of Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens with a spectacular overhead kick and visiting heads were in hands when Benjamin Sesko, who is struggling to make an impact, turned Zirkzee’s cut-back wide from six yards.
Cunha, who had a goal ruled out for offside much earlier in the contest, also fired against a post late on.
The point extends Leeds’ unbeaten run to seven games, their longest since 2001, and takes them eight points clear of the relegation zone.
For the visitors though, it was yet another opportunity to move into fourth spot, albeit only for a matter of hours, wasted.
Man Utd analysis: Amorim’s side misfire again
With the Africa Cup of Nations reaching its knockout phase, Amorim could be forgiven for hoping Cameroon and Ivory Coast make a pretty quick exit.
Current injuries to skipper Bruno Fernandes and England international Mason Mount only heightened the impact Bryan Mbuemo and Amad Diallo’s current participation at the prestigious event in Morocco is having on Amorim’s squad.
It’s not that the pair are the answer to all of United’s problems. After all, they were part of the side that lost at home to 10-man Everton in November and drew with third bottom West Ham less than two weeks later.
But without them, Amorim has no attacking options.
He clearly does not trust teenager Shea Lacey or the much more experienced Zirkzee, even though the Netherlands forward provided the through ball for Cunha’s equaliser almost instantly after his introduction as a substitute.
That leaves Cunha, who has now scored three goals in five games, Patrick Dorgu, who started as the right-sided number 10 despite being a left-sided defender, and Sesko.
On this evidence, the £74m frontman looks no better than Rasmus Hojlund, who largely failed to impress in two seasons before being loaned to Napoli to make way for Sesko’s arrival.
Sesko is lacking in confidence and doesn’t believe he is going to score. His failure to turn home Zirkzee’s cross means it is now nine games without a goal.
Leeds analysis: Another step towards survival
After the memorable victories against Chelsea and Crystal Palace and the thrilling comeback against Liverpool in their last three home games, the arrival of Leeds’ fiercest rivals to Elland Road was a bit drab.
True, Lammens knew better than to wave towards the Kop given the noise that accompanied his arrival for the start of the game, Cunha received a frosty reception when he went to take a corner and Luke Shaw a more personal one when he conceded one, but it was not really intimidating.
Leeds’ fans were more concerned about their side’s inability to get worthwhile possession close to the visitors’ penalty area for any length of time.
The Calvert-Lewin header that clipped off the post was an isolated moment, created through Anton Stach’s accurate curling cross and the striker’s ability to get some space for himself in a crowded box.
It still felt as though Leeds were struggling when Ayden Heaven’s positional error opened the door for Aaronson.
Ever so briefly, Leeds’ delirious fans thought they were about to secure a rare win against Manchester United, something they have now only experienced once in 20 top-flight encounters.
Nevertheless, there is a much bigger picture to deal with for Daniel Farke and Leeds.
When they went to Manchester City on 29 November on the back of a run of one win in seven games, many thought Farke would be out of a job by now.
Instead, he is masterminding significant progress.
The job is not done yet but step by step, Leeds are getting closer to survival.
What happens next?
Leeds have a Premier League trip to Newcastle on Wednesday (20:15 GMT), then start their FA Cup campaign at Derby on Sunday, 11 January (12:00 GMT). Manchester United play Burnley at Turf Moor in the Premier League, also on Wednesday (20:15 GMT), then have a Sunday FA Cup third-round tie against Brighton at Old Trafford (16:30 GMT).
