It was a miserable afternoon at Old Trafford on Saturday for Leeds United fans as they fell to an embarrassing 5-1 defeat at the hands of their biggest rivals on opening weekend.
But the travelling Leeds fans were in characteristically good spirits before the game, singing their hearts out across Manchester. A video surfaced online of Leeds fans chanting “Sancho and Rashford, let the country down!” pre-game in the wake of the Manchester United pair missing their respective penalties in England’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.
The Leeds fans have been faced with criticism following the chants, but TalkSport pundit Danny Murphy has defended Leeds fans by claiming “That’s just part of football, if you can’t take that then you’re in the wrong job.” He compared it to what David Beckham faced after kicking out at Diego Simeone in the 1998 World cup.
He went on to suggest the players should use the chant as motivation, just like Beckham did when Manchester united faced Liverpool following England’s Round of 16 exit in 1998. “I remember him getting hammered at Anfield, he was brilliant.”
Murphy finished off by saying “You’re gonna get the lads who miss penalties getting stick from supporters… but that’s just football.” Footage emerged of Manchester City fans singing the same chant prior to their defeat against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, backing up Murphy’s point that chants such as this are simply part of the game.
