Sancho emerges from lowest point to rescue United
There were two comebacks in one for Manchester United to celebrate here. It has been a tough road to mental and physical recovery for Jadon Sancho after three months out of the picture this season. But the sight of the England winger popping up to score the goal that earned Erik ten Hag’s side a precious point after they found themselves 2-0 down early in the second half to Leeds United must have felt cathartic for both player and club.
The deafening noise that greeted the sight of Sancho sneaking a shot under Illan Meslier to make it 2-2 was a reflection both of its importance and Old Trafford’s delight at seeing him back in the fold and flourishing. This was Sancho’s only second appearance since returning to the squad after a long “reset” period away from the club that Ten Hag, despite a shortage of attacking options, had felt was necessary to try to get the best out of the player in the longer term.
It would have been easy for Ten Hag to ask Sancho to just get on with it, but the Manchester United manager sensed something more drastic was required to help a player in a fragile state in terms of form, confidence and morale. Time will tell how beneficial Sancho’s programmed absence has been, but it has been an encouraging start.
After being struck down by illness at the weekend, Sancho was not considered quite ready to start against Leeds. But he came off the bench to help swing this game back in United’s favour and keep managerless Leeds waiting for a first league win since early November. This was the third successive game in which United enjoyed an immediate uplift in attack when Wout Weghorst made way and, with Sancho available again, it is hard to see how Ten Hag can continue to persist with the Netherlands striker.
Ten Hag’s hand may have been forced in the transfer window last month, given the lack of money to sign a permanent replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, but Weghorst is looking precisely what he is: a cheap, emergency loan signing. The need for a top centre-forward in the summer is pressing, with United weighing up Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen, but until then United may be better placing their faith in Marcus Rashford through the middle with the likes of Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho or Antony either side.
There will be occasions when Weghorst can do a job but, once again, he contributed little here. Contrast that to Sancho and Rashford, who pulled a goal back when he hung in the air in peak Ronaldo fashion to superbly head Diogo Dalot’s cross into the top corner. Sancho’s equaliser owed much to Luke Shaw’s brilliance. The leftback was running away from goal when he turned sharply and then surged the other way before exchanging a one-two with Sancho. Shaw’s cross inside the box was blocked but the ball deflected into the path of Sancho, who shot low past Meslier.
Without the suspended Casemiro and injured Christian Eriksen, United lacked composure in midfield and Ten Hag, his side having conceded after just 55 seconds, could not believe they then shot themselves in the foot again so soon after the restart. He had stressed the importance of a strong opening and will certainly hope for better when the teams meet again at Elland Road on Sunday.
There had been 20 goals in the previous four league meetings between these sides and it quickly became apparent that this was going to be another game full of drama. It is fair to say Patrick Bamford will have been a lot happier than he was during the 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest at the weekend. In what proved Jesse Marsch’s final game in charge before his sacking on Monday, Bamford had complained about being isolated and a lack of runners.
There were no such issues here. United simply were not ready for such an explosive start and, when Bruno Fernandes was hounded out of possession by a combination of Tyler Adams and Pascal Struijk, Wilfried Gnonto was well positioned to play a one-two with Bamford, sweep inside Fred and thump a bullet shot low into the corner.
Michael Skubala, Leeds’s caretaker manager, had made only two selection changes but the trick was to deploy Jack Harrison through the middle as a false nine, pushing Bamford to an inside-right position and keeping a terrier-like midfield three, in which the American pairing of Adams and Weston Mckennie excelled, compact. It took Ten Hag’s side a good 20 minutes before they started asking their own questions. Garnacho had already gone close before having a shot cleared off the line by Maximilian Wober and then Meslier did well to claw away a Marcel Sabitzer shot.
Given they lost both Luis Sinisterra and Struijk to injury inside 23 minutes, Leeds reorganised impressively and what a game it was: chaotic, fast-paced and fullblooded as tackles flew in.
Leeds’s second came after the hosts had failed to clear and Robin Koch switched it wide to Gnonto. Crysencio Summerville slipped in behind Dalot and his intended cross was turned into his own net inadvertently by Raphael Varane. Step forward Rashford and Sancho.