- Scott McTominay - 2', 3'
- Bruno Fernandes - 20', 70' Pen
- Victor Lindelöf - 37'
- Daniel James - 66'
- Liam Cooper - 42'
- Stuart Dallas - 73'
Man Utd hit six in Leeds hammering with McTominay, Fernandes netting braces
Manchester United hammered Leeds United 6-2 at Old Trafford on Sunday in their first Premier League meeting since 2004 thanks to a stunning opening first half performance in which they scored four times.
Scott McTominay scored twice within the opening three minutes with Bruno Fernandes and Victor Lindelof adding the third and fourth. Daniel James scored the fifth before Fernandes converted his second of the evening after Anthony Martial won a penalty.
Liam Cooper managed to pull one back for Leeds at the end of the first-half and a moment of individual brilliance from Stuart Dallas secured them a second.
- Dawson: Festive fixtures will reveal if United for real
The two sides have an historic rivalry but haven't met since Leeds were relegated from the top flight.
The match marked the first time United have scored six goals since they beat Arsenal 8-2 in 2011 during Alex Ferguson's tenure.
"Just imagine if there were 75,000 people in, it would have gone down in history as one of the great performances against Leeds," Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said after the game.
"We had to earn the right by running as much as them, that's a challenge. It could have been 12-4! It was that kind of game."
United's dream start came on two minutes when Fernandes crossed the ball into McTominay in the box whose shot went straight into the bottom right corner.
He added another less than a minute later with Martial picking up his run into the box perfectly.
Patrick Bamford put the ball in the net for Leeds on 19 minutes but replays showed he was well offside and the goal was disallowed.
Fernandes added to Leeds' woes one minute later when United caught them on the break. The ball was delivered to Martial in the area which Leeds cleared but only as far as Fernandes who hits it into the net from 10 yards out.
Lindelof added United's fourth with a close range shot on 37 minutes before Liam Cooper headed home from a corner five minutes later to pull one back for Leeds.
Leeds were caught on the counter attack again on 66 minutes with McTominay threading a long pass through to James who hit the ball through Meslier's legs.
Pascal Struijk conceded a penalty four minutes later which Fernandes struck into the left of Meslier's goal.
Dallas scored Leeds' second with a curling shot from the edge of the box on 73 minutes.
"I'm almost glad the fans weren't allowed in to watch because it would have felt even worse sending them home after watching that," Bamford said after the game.
"It's tough because 6-2 -- it could have 6-6 if you're an optimistic Leeds fan or it could have been 10-2. We couldn't do ourselves justice."
Game Information
English Premier League Standings
Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liverpool | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | +28 | 45 |
Nottingham Forest | 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 | +7 | 37 |
Arsenal | 18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | +19 | 36 |
Chelsea | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | +17 | 35 |
Manchester City | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | +6 | 31 |
AFC Bournemouth | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | +6 | 30 |
Newcastle United | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | +9 | 29 |
Fulham | 19 | 7 | 8 | 4 | +3 | 29 |
Aston Villa | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | -3 | 28 |
Brighton & Hove Albion | 18 | 6 | 8 | 4 | +1 | 26 |
Tottenham Hotspur | 19 | 7 | 3 | 9 | +13 | 24 |
Brentford | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 24 |
West Ham United | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 | -12 | 23 |
Manchester United | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | -3 | 22 |
Crystal Palace | 19 | 4 | 8 | 7 | -7 | 20 |
Everton | 18 | 3 | 8 | 7 | -9 | 17 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 19 | 4 | 4 | 11 | -11 | 16 |
Leicester City | 19 | 3 | 5 | 11 | -20 | 14 |
Ipswich Town | 18 | 2 | 6 | 10 | -17 | 12 |
Southampton | 19 | 1 | 3 | 15 | -27 | 6 |