James claims Scott was eyeing up pen
SCOTT McTominay put his hand up to take United’s penalty against Leeds, as he was chasing a hat-trick.
McTominay’s two early goals put United on course for a stunning victory over Marcelo Bielsa’s side at Old Trafford, as the hosts cruised to a 6-2 win.
Bruno Fernandes and Victor Lindelof scored to make it 4-0 just before half-time, though Leeds skipper Liam Cooper’s header made it 4-1 at the break.
United then surged further ahead through Daniel James and were given a penalty when Anthony Martial went down in the box. Fernandes converted – as he so often does from the spot – but James told MUTV afterwards that McTominay had been keen to take the kick.
Talking about the midfielder’s overall performance, James said: “It was beautiful from Scott, he won a lot of the 50-50s and drove through the middle.
“Obviously I think he probably wanted to take the pen but in that situation you’ve got to be professional and the penalty-taker is Bruno.”
United saw out a comfortable victory despite a late consolation from Stuart Dallas but could have scored many more. James reflected on a madcap game against the ultraattacking Leeds, who left many gaps for United to exploit at Old Trafford.
He added: “We all knew it was going to be one-v-ones all over the pitch. So it was just about winning them and we definitely did that today.
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer says it did ‘his head in’ that United winger Daniel James was booked for simulation in their 6-2 thrashing of Leeds.
James was cautioned by referee Anthony Taylor in the second-half for going down under a challenge from Leeds captain Liam Cooper and the Welshman saw yellow twice last season for diving.
Solskjaer said: “It does do my head in when he gets a yellow card when he should have had a penalty, it’s a foul, and he’s almost been labelled as a diver before.
“But his pace is impossible to stop. And if he turns ahead and runs with it, Dan’s past him. Dan’s got a big role to play for us.”
“Fantastic game by the boys,” Solskjaer explained. “We know they’re going to challenge you, test you physically, tactically as well it’s a difficult game, it’s like going back to the old German teams with a sweeper. We had to find a way of creating space, stopping them, and when you get a start like we did, but they keep going until the end and we showed we can physically match them. I’m very, very happy.”