Old Trafford
Saturday, Aug 14, 2021
vs Leeds United
4-2-3-1
Ronaldo
Rashford----------------------------Sancho
Fernandes
Pogba --------McTominay
Shaw ---Maguire(c)----Varane -----Wan-Bissaka
De Gea
Subs
Henderson, Lindelof, Telles, Greenwood, Fred, Van de Beek, Cavani
First Half
Manchester United turned their first half dominance into goals as they end the half four goals up. Putting their pre-season woes behind them, they started strong with Paul Pogba turning a Ronaldo pass into a 1-0 lead. Ronaldo was then brought down in the box and Bruno Fernandes stepped up to convert from the spot. Ronaldo finally got his reward for being the creator and headed in a Luke Shaw corner with the keeper standing little chance to stop it. There was a glimmer of hope for Leeds United as a Luke Shaw foul on ex-united man Dan James earned them a penalty kick. Rodrigo stepped up, but De Gea made a fine stop and punched the ball away. Manchester United got possession of the loose ball, broke down the left side of the pitch and a Marcus Rashford cross found the head of Ronaldo again as he put it in the back of the net for a four goal lead.
Alex Telles came on for Luke Shaw, who was carrying a booking, and Donny van de Beek came on for Scott McTominay.
Full Time
The second half went much the way of the first, with Leeds United unable to hang with their longtime rivals. Ronaldo turned creator again with a quick one touch flick through to Fernandes who finished low and hard into the bottom corner. It always seemed inevitable that Ronaldo would complete the hat-trick, and on 75 minutes he did just that. After having a hand in all six goals scored, he left the pitch to a standing ovation as he was replaced by Mason Greenwood, who had 10 minutes to stretch his legs. The scoring wasn't over though as substitute van de Beek slipped in Jadon Sancho who finished hard into the roof of the net, and the captain Harry Maguire put an exclamation point with a headed goal from another corner as Manchester United finished with eight. They'll be filled with confidence going into their next game having looked to have shaken off all the pre-season cobwebs.
Goals - Ronaldo (3), Fernandes (2), Pogba, Sancho, Maguire
Assists - Fernandes (3), Ronaldo (2), van de Beek, Shaw
Yellow Cards - Shaw, Wan-Bissaka
Post-Match Interview
Reporter - Your first victory as Manchester United manager. It's a landmark for you, of course, but how happy are you with what you saw from your team?
Ravine - I'm very pleased indeed with what I saw from the team. Their attitude to their work has been outstanding since the day I walked through the dookr and they gave me 100% out there. That's all I ask from them in each and every game.
Reporter - It's been difficult for Rashford recently and you've had to try everything to try and get him back to his best. Do you think we saw him come through the other side of his bad spell in today's game?
Ravine - I think you've got to recognise the lad's resilience. He knows he's been struggling, in and out of the team. But he's kept his head down, worked hard, and today he got his reward.
Reporter - Great win and congratulations. No question all the headlines will be about Ronaldo's performance. Were you surprised to see him weight in with a hat-trick?
Ravine - A great performance and a great hat-trick, but Ronaldo's true value to this team is as a leader. We're very happy to have him with us at the club. He's inspirational.
