MANCHESTER — Scott McTominay set a Premier League record with two goals in the first three minutes and Manchester United smashed Leeds United 6-2 to jump to third in the Premier League standings.
Manchester United v Leeds United Highlights
The win took Manchester United to third place in the standings with 26th points, while Leeds United are 14th with 17points. United, who still have a game in hand, are unbeaten in the last seven Premier League matches, with of them being victories.
“That was fantastic. From the first minute we had a plan to get after them, go forward when we got the ball and of course Scott gets two goals in the first three minutes which is a great start to the game,” said Reds boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Sunday’s game at Old Trafford tallied eight goals and 43 shots from Manchester United – the most in a Premier League game all season.
“We found a way of getting them going. Just imagine if that had 75,000 people here,” Solskjaer added. “It would have gone down in history as one of the better Man Utd performances against Leeds here at home.
“We’re one third into the season, not even at the halfway point. So league position is not something we’re going to look at. We look at improvement in the team, look at improvement in fitness – because we knew we were going to be lagging behind in fitness and I think it showed in the first few games.
“But now we showed we’re getting a fitter and stronger team.”
The Red Devils are a point off second-placed team Leicester City after their 2-0 win at Tottenham earlier.
Bruno Fernandes also scored twice today, while Daniel James and Victor Lindelof added their names to the scoresheet in the thumping victory for Manchester United, who were winning at home for only the second time in Premier League this season.
The Leeds United goals came from Liam Cooper and Stuart Dallas.
“As a team, we played really well,” McTominay to Sky Sports. “We did a lot of video analysis of them, and it paid off.
“Every game is a cup final at this football club. We are on a good run.”
United’s rapid start saw them head into the halftime break with a 4-1 lead.
Leeds United were conceding four goals in the first half of a Premier League game for the first time, while it was the first time Manchester United scored four times in the first half of a Premier League game since September 2016 vs Leicester.
“In the first half we had similar opportunities to the ones that they had, and we weren’t able to score them,” Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa said. “Our attacks came from combination play and their attacks came from the fact we were losing the ball in attacking positions and they would transition from defence to attack.
“Our return was slower than their transition and this was linked to the fact we couldn’t finish our attacks, and our return was not at the speed needed.
“We will correct what was bad and try to keep the good things. But we will not abandon the way we play.”
