EPL: Rashford, Garnacho Spur Man Utd Past Leed Utd Into Second Temporarily

Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho spurred Manchester United past old rivals Leeds in a 2-0 victory on Sunday in a match marked by offensive taunts from the stands.

The game saw Rashford extend his hot streak with a late goal, making it four successive Premier League games with a goal for England forward and eight out of his last nine appearances in the competition.

After Garnacho's frustrated reaction to being substituted on Wednesday, the Argentine teenager came off the bench to seal United's hard-fought victory five minutes after Rashford's goal.

 

United's win was just their second in their last five league games, but they are seven points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham in the race to qualify for the Champions League via a top-four finish.

Leeds started the game with a frenzied start, but United soon took control of the match. In the midst of a frenetic clash, Bruno Fernandes's attempt to chip Illan Meslier was halted by a block from Robin Koch, with the United midfielder's appeal for handball waved away.

Summerville carried the main threat for Leeds, forcing a good save from David De Gea soon after the interval. Jadon Sancho, who had scored United's equaliser against Leeds in midweek, was rewarded with his first league start since October but came off after an hour as he was largely anonymous.

After a stalemate, De Gea had to make a smart save with his foot to deny Summerville's drive from a tight angle before United finally made the breakthrough in the 80th minute.

Shaw whipped over a teasing cross and Rashford found space to thump in a powerful header from 10 yards, with the forward's 21st goal this season surviving a VAR check for offside. Garnacho put the result beyond doubt five minutes later when he surged into the area and shot past Meslier via the near post.

In the midst of the match, Leeds were without a win in their last nine league games and would drop into the relegation zone if Everton beat Liverpool on Monday. Since sacking Jesse Marsch on Monday, Leeds have seen their move for Rayo Vallecano boss Andoni Iraola blocked by his club. At the same time, Feyenoord's Arne Slot and West Brom's Carlos Corberan ruled themselves out of contention.

Leeds chief executive Angus Kinnear insists the search for a new manager is "well advanced", but Michael Skubala was in charge for a second game on a caretaker basis.

The match was marred by offensive taunts from the stands, with Leeds fans singing about the 1958 Munich air crash that killed several United players and their rivals in the away end responding by chanting about the deaths of two Leeds fans in Istanbul in 2000.

Despite this, the match was thrilling and showed the fierce rivalry between Manchester United and Leeds, one of the bitterest in English football. The result sees United extend their lead in the race for the Champions League and puts pressure on the other teams vying for the top four spots.