Reds keep lid on white-hot atmosphere

Big teams have wilted there in the Premier League recently, including Chelsea – who lost 3-1 at the beginning of December – and Liverpool, during an entertaining and physical 3-3 draw last month.

Ruben Amorim’s side were not fancied by many going into the contest, given the Whites’ positive recent form and the fact that eight of our first-team players were missing, including the talismanic Bruno Fernandes and two of our AFCON representatives, in Amad and Bryan Mbeumo.

Our head coach said as much during Friday’s press conference, asking which sides could cope at a place like Leeds when being shorn of three key attackers, but on Sunday we found a way to mainly keep a lid on the home support – even if, ultimately, we had to settle for a point.

The early kick-off time, coupled with freezing temperatures across the country, meant it was a slow build-up to the game, particularly when compared with those aforementioned evening kick-offs, against Chelsea and Liverpool.

The pre-match music blaring over the tannoy had a real 1990s ‘big night on the tiles’ theme to it, with Chumbawamba’s ‘Tubthumping’ followed up by Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ to get the home faithful in the mood.

Mateusz Klich, who represented Leeds between 2017 and 2023, was back in town and received a warm welcome when paraded around the pitch, but the atmosphere was generally fairly tame until around 10 minutes to kick-off.

Then the stadium announcer read out the teams – each Red greeted with a ring of boos, every home player cheered to the rafters.

I was sat next to former United midfielder Ben Thornley, who played here at various levels, including in the Premier League and an FA Youth Cup final.

He said Elland Road was always one of the toughest places to come as a player, an intimidating venue no matter what the occasion.

With almost three years having passed since our last visit – and few surviving players from that clash, won 2-0 by the Reds, on each side – this was always going to be a fiery contest and the noise was cranked up to ‘hearing protection-required level’ when the Whites’ anthem ‘Marching on Together’ began.

The refrain ‘we are Leeds, Leeds, Leeds’ leaves you in no doubt as to where you are and Senne Lammens was also reminded of the fact, as the sides switched ends and he was forced to trot towards the intense Kop support to take his position.

A fairly uneventful opening five minutes passed in the blink of an eye before Anton Stach soared into a full-blooded challenge on Matheus Cunha.

The press box at Elland Road is right among some of the more vociferous home fans and they roared their approval - “Get into them!” being one of the more repeatable refrains.

But as Ruben Amorim’s side grew into the occasion, murmurs of angst could be heard. Cunha had the ball in the net, only for the offside flag to go up, while the Reds generally controlled the first half.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s header, which kissed the post, did cause a bit of excitement, but the half ended with more moans as Lucas Perri put a simple pass straight out for a throw-in.

Leeds improved after the break, with Amorim’s men initially struggling to get out save for a few stymied breaks.

Cunha – our most prominent attacking player – bore the brunt of the insults, particularly when an aerial battle with James Justin saw him shoved into the hoardings.

But the anger and vitriol of the Leeds fans soon turned to jubilation and delight, as Brenden Aaronson found the corner of the net to open the scoring.

The four corners of Elland Road exploded in celebration, as the Whites took the lead in this fixture for the first time since their last victory in it, back in 2002.

Thankfully the merrymaking lasted all of 180 seconds, as Cunha stole in behind and caressed Joshua Zirkzee’s pinpoint throughball beyond Lucas Perri.

Now, it was total silence, save for the travelling pocket of fans to my right, at the far end of the John Charles Stand.

With 20 minutes to go, it was all to play for and both sides could have become too emotional in attempting to force a way in front.

Benjamin Sesko fired wide, Cunha hit a post and Lammens denied Noah Okafor, as a winner wouldn’t come – much to the disappointment of the supporters close to me.

They urged their team forward in the closing stages but a depleted United stood firm.

In some quarters, the Reds were predicted to fold in front of adversity, just as others have done this term, but instead we travel back down the M62 with a well-earned point, before Wednesday’s visit to Burnley.

"We managed to control our emotions and to score the next goal, and we had a big chance," Ruben himself reflected. "I think we deserved a little better, but it's okay."

The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Manchester United Football Club.