It was a game full of fury, loathing, visceral roars, taunts, and screams of approbation when tackles flew in and jeers of derision when a Manchester United player was hurt. The sound was relentless. For Erik ten Hag and his team, this was football as a test of character, a trial by hostility.
It must have felt like deliverance and victory for Rashford and his teammates after a long. A crowd of 36,919, most Leeds supporters, had tried to will their team away from the relegation zone, but now they had to admit defeat.
Leeds probably deserved a point, but it was hard to begrudge Ten Hag’s team the victory. There are not many places like Elland Road in English football any more.
There are not many places like Elland Road in the Premier League that sometimes feels as though it is too neat and ordered, and controlled. Elland Road is a throwback atmosphere, and Manchester United showed they could handle it and prosper.
