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Manchester United continued their brilliant pre-season form in the 4-0 thrashing of arch-rivals Leeds United in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday. Goals from Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Phil Jones and Anthony Martial helped the Red Devils secure their second consecutive win of the pre-season.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer used two different XIs, one in each half, for this game. Manchester United opened the scoring in the 7th minute, with Mason Greenwood scoring his first-ever goal for the senior side.
Another academy graduate, Marcus Rashford, doubled United's lead in the 27th minute with a brilliant finish into the bottom corner. Leeds United had their chances but failed to capitalise on them. Center-back Phil Jones scored the third for United with a set-piece in the 51st minute, taking the game away from Leeds' reach. Anthony Martial delivered the final nail in the coffin for Leeds with an ice-cold penalty.
We pick three things we learnt from Manchester United's comfortable victory over their old rivals Leeds United.
#3 Mason Greenwood and Angel Gomes look ready for first-team football next season
Mason Greenwood and Angel Gomes are two of the most exciting prospects coming out of the Manchester United academy in recent years. Both were impressive for the Manchester United U-18s last season and are now being given opportunities in the pre-season to prove their worth at the senior level by Solskjaer.
And both the youngster have been hugely impressive so far. Mason Greenwood looked phenomenal in the 2 games he has played in the pre-season so far, and bagged his first-ever senior goal for Manchester United against Leeds United with a brilliant instinctive finish. Angel Gomes, who came on in the second half, put in a pretty solid performance himself. Gomes played as an attacking midfielder and pulled the strings in the middle of the park.
The 18-year-old looked confident on the ball and didn't look afraid to take on the Leeds defenders. Both players have looked sharp during the match against Leeds United and look ready for more first-team opportunities next season.
#2 United's midfield needs improvement
United's midfield looked pretty average during the game against Leeds United and needs an injection of quality. They struggled to link-up play with the attack when Leeds United started to press them higher up the pitch.
The only player who looked world-class in the midfield for the Red Devils was Paul Pogba, who controlled the tempo in the middle of the park and created chances in the final third. Although both Scott McTominay and Andreas Pereira was also decent; they are both relatively young and lack both the quality and the experience to dominate the middle of the park.
The Red Devils desperately need reinforcement in the middle of the park, especially with the departure of Ander Herrera, and need to bring in a midfielder that will fit Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's style of play and can provide a bit of creativity and bite in the middle of the park during the summer transfer window.
#1 Aaron Wan Bissaka is living up to the hype
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was once again impressive against Leeds United. The 21-year-old was solid at the back, winning 100% of his duels and producing four interceptions. Wan-Bissaka is perceived as more of a defensive full-back and many argue that the 21-year-old does not have the attacking qualities required by a modern-day full-back.
However, Wan Bissaka displayed his attacking side of his game with a brilliant assist against Leeds United. The England U-21 international bombed forward into the opposition box and delivered a brilliant low cross into the feet of Mason Greenwood, who buried the ball into the back of the net with a great finish. Wan Bissaka also produced two key passes during the game against Leeds.
The full-back came to Manchester United for a hefty price-tag and with a lot of expectations. Although it is still early to judge, Wan-Bissaka has so far lived up to the hype till now.
