Man Utd 1 Leeds 1: Zirkzee continues stellar pre-season form with goal but Red Devils fail to beat Whites again

ITV1 CLEARED three hours to broadcast this match live and many viewers will still be wondering why. There were 13 half-time changes and Manchester United had more stardust sprinkled on their bench and in the stands than on the pitch at kick-off. Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee opened the scoring in the 16th minute Credit: Getty Brenden Aaronson then equalised in the 29th minute Credit: SPORTSFILE If viewers stayed tuned in, they were treated to a penalty shootout that United won 5-4, despite Bruno Fernandes rolling his spotkick wide. There was not a single yellow card in this tame friendly that ended with United’s fourth-choice goalkeeper between the sticks. Sign up for the Man United newsletter Thank you! Michael Carrick will still feel that United’s productive pre-season continued at a sold-out Croke Park. Senne Lammens lived up to his new squad number as the ‘1’ with a fine save, Leny Yoro made a successful return at centre- half and Andrey Santos’ importance could be gauged by his rest for the second half. Bryan Mbeumo remains United’s standout performer this pre-season, particularly as he has filled in for Benjamin Sesko up front in all five friendlies. Mbeumo did the bulk of the legwork for Joshua Zirkzee’s goal, drifting wide and deceiving his marker before racing into the final third and craftily slotting in Zirkzee. The Cameroonian was denied a fourth goal in three games by the agile James Trafford and then the woodwork. With Sesko a mere spectator again, Mbeumo seems certain to start at Hull City on Saturday week and his country’s absence at the World Cup is already benefiting United. United were the superior side with the stronger XI in the first half. After Leeds introduced their big guns at the interval, they did the majority of the running until Carrick sent on a handful of regulars on the hour. Most read in Football BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Man United’s starting eleven against Leeds Credit: PA In spite of the promotion of some callow academy hopefuls, United’s squad situation is not too dire as they prepare for the start of the new season. Lammens, on his first start since his World Cup error cost Belgium, was the only senior goalkeeper. Karl Darlow and Tom Heaton are both nursing injuries. It is unlikely many inside Croke Park had heard of the three United substitute goalies. Dermot Mee, once a Republic of Ireland Under 21 international, was charitably granted a half-hour runout. Harry Maguire, booed on his last visit to Dublin with United at the Aviva Stadium, was given a breather after four successive starts. Mason Mount was left out as he recovers from a foot injury while Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford, Lisandro Martinez and Sesko are scheduled to play against AC Milan in Poland on Saturday. Bruno Fernandes, Youri Tielemans and Matheus Cunha emerged on the hour after their babysitting stint alongside the 15-year-old JJ Gabriel. Fernandes had a goal chalked off for offside and clipped the crossbar. Segregation was sensibly in place at Croke Park amid a sizeable contingent of Leeds fans. A couple of supporters dared to don half-and-half scarves. As peculiar as it was of Carrick to include Zirkzee, Harry Amass and Tyler Fletcher, seven of the United starters could feasibly line up at Hull. A cynic might suggest the selections of Amass at left- back and Zirkzee in attack were shop window tactics. Man Utd and Leeds gaffers Michael Carrick and Daniel Farke were on the touchline and witnessed a stale game Credit: Sportsfile Marcus Rashford was back in the Man United camp, but remained an unused substitute on the sidelines Credit: Getty Amass played with an aggression befitting a competitive game between the two rivals, eager to stake his claim as Luke Shaw’s understudy. Lewis Hall or Myles Lewis-Skelly may dash those aspirations. Zirkzee, recalled at the expense of the teenager Shea Lacey, nearly capped an incisive attack with a side-footed volley that James Trafford reacted alertly to. The Dutchman did not have to wait much longer for another chance and he swept the ball clinically past Trafford from Mbeumo’s precise pass. Ironically, Mbeumo’s potency up front reduced Zirkzee’s playing time in the two friendlies in Sweden. The Dutchman was deployed as the No.10 on his return to the starting XI. That rare goal for Zirkzee was his first since Ruben Amorim’s penultimate game in charge against Wolves last December. It will count towards his official haul, of course, nor is it likely to increase his chances of remaining at United beyond the transfer window. When Carrick made a second batch of changes, Cunha played up front. The preference remains to use an auxiliary striker while Sesko builds himself up after a long-term shin injury. With a Scot wearing the number 39 and a Brazilian number 17 in midfield, United seemed to be summoning the spirit of the Scott McTominay-Fred ‘McFred’ axis. Tyler Fletcher got away with one mistake but not the second time and Brenden Aaronson’s equaliser has to be a learning curve for the 19-year-old. What United lack in their squad they have offset with stability and preparation. Yet the injury to Mason Mount on Saturday and Fletcher’s error in Dublin reaffirm the need for a specialist defensive midfielder. However inconsequential this game was, there is every chance it trumped the ratings for Coronation Street or Emmerdale. Comment now