Leeds United pulled off a historic league win over Manchester United at Old Trafford to pull six points clear of the relegation zone.
The 2-1 win over Manchester United is Leeds’ first league win at Old Trafford in more than 45 years, and could prove crucial in their bid to survive in the Premier League.
Noah Okafor scored a brace in a first half where Leeds dominated proceedings against a rusty Manchester United team and could have scored more had their finishing been better.
Lisandro Martinez was sent off in the second half for pulling at Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s ponytail, and while Casemiro’s goal brought the home side back, Leeds did enough to leave with three points.
Gary Neville drops a major Leeds United relegation prediction
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has stressed the importance of Leeds’ win over the Red Devils at Old Trafford tonight.
Leeds looked nervous in the second half despite Manchester United being a man down, and Casemiro’s goal led to renewed energy from the home side.
However, Calvert-Lewin cleared from the line, and Leeds defended well to ensure they walked away with a league win at Old Trafford for the first time in more than four decades.
He believes they were the better side and feels it’s a monumental victory in Leeds’ pursuit to stay in the Premier League this season.
Neville said on Sky Sports: It’s a monumental night for Leeds United. Farke will have been nervous about the fact that Leeds were going perilously close to relegation.
“I think this victory goes a long way to securing their Premier League status.
“They fully deserved it over the course of the 90 minutes. They were the better team.”
The Whites are now almost safe
The win at Old Trafford is monumental in more than one way, as it also opened a six-point gap between Leeds and Tottenham in the relegation zone.
It’s a huge gap with only six games left in the season, given Spurs have not won a Premier League game since the turn of the year.
With Leeds set to face Wolves, Burnley and Tottenham in the run-in, it is hard to see the Whites going down by the end of the season.
However, Leeds may just need one more win to almost guarantee Premier League survival and it is hard now hard to bet against them doing so.
