Chapter 835: A One-Sided Roses Derby
Just three minutes into the match, Leeds United were already two goals down. Marcelo Bielsa stepped to the edge of the technical area, shouting the name of his Brazilian winger, Raphinha. When the player turned to look, Bielsa gestured emphatically: keep attacking!
Raphinha nodded in acknowledgment.
The Leeds players, seeing their manager urging them to push forward, were fired up. Less than three minutes had passed, and they still hadn't quite realized what had happened—they were two goals down already, and the frustration burned within them.
With Patrick Bamford, Mateusz Klich, Jack Harrison, Rodrigo, and Raphinha leading the line, Leeds' attack was by no means weak. In the first thirteen league matches, they had scored twenty-two goals—an average of 1.7 per game—a testament to their offensive strength.
Leeds quickly mounted a dangerous counter. Raphinha lofted a ball over the top on the right, Bamford flicked it on with a header, Rodrigo cleverly dummied, and Klich burst through from midfield. Spotting that David De Gea was slightly off his line, Klich attempted an audacious lob.
The ball traced a perfect arc toward goal, but De Gea reacted instantly—two steps back, soaring like a dolphin, one hand tipping it onto the crossbar before it flew behind for a corner.
"Wow! Brilliant!" exclaimed Martin Tyler. "A superb strike from Klich—and an even better save from De Gea."
Bielsa clapped on the sideline, applauding the attacking move.
Mourinho, too, had been startled by the shot, but what impressed him most was Rodrigo's dummy—pure instinct and intelligence from the Spaniard.
...
On the ensuing corner, Raphinha swung the ball into the box. Harry Maguire rose highest to clear, and İlkay Gündoğan tried to launch a counter before Kalvin Phillips intervened, putting the ball out for a throw.
Mourinho applauded from the touchline. Unless a set piece was in a dangerous, direct shooting range, he rarely worried. Leeds lacked aerial threat—neither Klich, Raphinha, nor Harrison were strong in the air. Only Bamford had some heading ability.
Leeds' attack gradually found rhythm. Harrison cut inside from the edge of the box but missed narrowly wide, and Rodrigo forced another save from De Gea moments later.
Their improvement pleased Bielsa, but Mourinho was just as happy—especially with what came next.
After a quick one-two between Bruno and McTominay, Bruno found Rashford. Rashford feigned a pass to Mbappé, then unexpectedly played it outside instead. Gündoğan struck from range but fired high.
That wasn't what caught Mourinho's attention. What did was the utter lack of pressure on Gündoğan during the move. The German had time to settle, adjust, and shoot—no Leeds defender closed him down.
Even the tireless Phillips arrived only after the shot had already been taken.
In pushing their defensive line so high, Leeds had left glaring gaps.
...
Mourinho smiled to himself. Leeds were pressing forward aggressively and leaving open spaces behind—just as United were when they attacked. It was now a matter of who would exploit those spaces first.
With a two-goal cushion, Mourinho was happy to gamble.
If Leeds pulled one back, so be it. But if United scored again first—making it 3–0—that would crush Leeds' fighting spirit completely.
This high-risk, high-reward battle suited him just fine.
From the first whistle, it had been a duel of minds between the two managers. Sixteen years after their last league encounter, Manchester United and Leeds United were at it again—a true clash of philosophies.
As the saying goes, when brave men meet on a narrow path, only courage wins. In such a fight, momentum is everything.
Leeds, two goals down so early, looked shaken. Though Bielsa shouted for his men to attack, they were hesitant—confidence slipping away.
Mourinho demanded relentless pressure and attacking intent from his side. United's intensity smothered Leeds completely. The balance of the match tilted decisively in favor of the Red Devils.
"Our attack looks good," said Bielsa's assistant. "If we can get one back quickly, the game will turn."
"Careful," Bielsa warned, waving a hand. "United's counter is deadly—did you see their last one?"
He knew full well why United were reigning four-time Premier League champions—they were ruthless. Still, he refused to concede that Leeds couldn't fight back.
The two early goals? Bad luck, he told himself—not a tactical mistake.
...
Barely had Bielsa finished that thought when disaster struck again.
Rodrigo attempted a pass to Harrison, but it was too predictable. N'Golo Kanté stepped in and intercepted smartly.
Kanté quickly released Gündoğan, who drove forward for a swift United counter. Bruno moved ahead to offer support; Cooper stepped up, with Alioski covering behind.
McTominay drifted inside, dragging Ayling with him. On the far side, Rashford sprinted forward, drawing Dallas across.
As Leeds' defense collapsed inward, Gündoğan suddenly played a diagonal through ball—piercing the back line.
Luke Shaw burst forward to meet it.
The Leeds backline, split apart by that pass and Shaw's overlapping run, fell into chaos.
Dallas abandoned Rashford and sprinted to intercept Shaw.
Shaw feigned a drive toward the byline, drawing Dallas and even Ayling toward him.
That created a massive pocket of space just outside the right edge of the penalty area.
Without hesitation, Shaw cut the ball diagonally back into the open zone.
Right place, right time—Mbappé met the pass.
"Brilliant ball!" shouted Andy Gray.
The crowd roared with delight.
...
Mbappé struck low, the ball skimming across the turf toward the corner. Meslier might have gotten there—but just as he reacted, he glanced at McTominay. That split-second hesitation doomed him.
The shot struck the post with a loud clank and bounced back into play.
McTominay, perfectly placed, pounced—but instead of shooting, he squared the ball.
To Mbappé's shock, the pass rolled straight to him. Snapping out of his frustration from the earlier miss, he swung his foot—goalkeeper beaten, ball rolling cleanly into the net.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!"
"3–0! Incredible scenes here! Mbappé scores after his first shot hit the post, thanks to McTominay's unselfish assist! What team spirit—McTominay could've gone for his hat-trick but chose to set up his teammate instead!"
Mbappé burst into celebration, sprinting to embrace McTominay. The Scot could easily have gone for goal himself and completed a historic hat-trick, but he'd squared it instead.
Grinning, the two hugged tightly, joined quickly by Rashford and Luke Shaw—laughing, jumping, pure joy.
...
"Only nineteen minutes in, and Manchester United lead 3–0," said Martin Tyler.
On the sideline, Bielsa grabbed his head in disbelief, ruffling his hair in anger and despair. Words failed him—rage and frustration weighing heavy on his face.
He had prepared meticulously, done everything he could—but what was happening?
Nineteen minutes, and 0–3 down. How could this be? Even against Liverpool, City, Arsenal, or Chelsea, Leeds had never suffered such a disastrous start.
Pure agony.
In the press box, Leeds journalists sat stunned. Not even their chaotic 3–4 season opener against Liverpool compared to this calamity.
As the clock hit nineteen minutes, United led 3–0, dominating entirely.
Around the world, millions of Manchester United fans watching on TV or online erupted in celebration. Sixteen years since the last Roses Derby, and within nineteen minutes, their team had stunned the football world.
Leeds finally pulled one back in the 21st minute.
Raphinha's corner from the left found Cooper, who soared highest to head the ball into the net—a beautiful looping header beyond De Gea's reach.
1–3, Leeds had a lifeline.
Bielsa punched the air on the touchline, shouting encouragement to his players. One back, two to go. "Come on, boys!"
(END CHAPTER)
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