5 memorable Man Utd vs Leeds moments as rivalry returns to Premier League
Manchester United and Leeds United have had their fair share of rivalry matches across the years.
The two clubs have a bitter rivalry, and both sets of fans hold a distinct distain for the other club.
The last time they met in the Premier League, they drew 1-1 as Alan Smith scored to put a dent in United’s title chase.
United came out on top in their second-to-last league meeting, with Roy Keane scoring a late header.
What can fans expect from today’s meeting of the two sides at Old Trafford?
Mirror Football has picked out five memorable derby moments from down memory lane
(Image: Getty Images Sport)
Keane vs Haaland – round one
Manchester United vs Leeds United in September 1997 will be remembered, unfortunately, for the horrific injury suffered by Roy Keane.
The Irishman’s season was ended when he injured his cruciate ligaments in a challenge with Alf-Inge Haaland.
The Norwegian player then stood over Keane and accused him of faking his injury, an action Keane repeated when the pair met again.
That clash in 1997 set the stage for the pair’s next meeting, when Haaland was at City.
On that occasion in 2001, Keane stamped on Haaland’s knee in a gruesome challenge after the ball had been played.
The incident came about because of their meeting in 1997, and Haaland’s career never quite recovered.
Jermaine Beckford’s cup upset
When the two sides met again for the first time after Leeds’ relegation in 2004, their positions in the footballing ladder were in stark contrast.
Leeds were languishing in League 1 after financial problems had seen them relegated from the Championship, while Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were champions of England.
But Ferguson rang in the changes for the game at Old Trafford, and Leeds took full advantage through a Jermaine Beckford goal 20 minutes into the game.
Leeds, cheered on by 9,000 vocal fans in the away end, were able to hang onto the result and seal a famous cup victory.
Eric Cantona returns to haunt Leeds
Eric Cantona was one of a number of players to swap Elland Road for Old Trafford over the years.
The Frenchman, known as ‘The King’, was adored by Leeds fans before making the switch to Manchester United.
He scored once in his first six games against his old club, but made them pay when he returned to Elland Road in 1996, as he scored in the 90th minute and provided an assist in a 4-0 rout for the Red Devils.
(Image: EMPICS Sport)
‘Battle of the Roses’ FA Cup semi-final
In the oldest of our picks, the two United sides squared off in the FA Cup semi-final in one of the more gruesome meetings of the teams.
The match was billed as the ‘Battle of the Roses’ and certainly lived up to the billing.
Multiple fans were arrested both inside and outside Hillsborough Stadium, and there were multiple injuries reported.
Manchester United, led by manager Tommy Docherty, won 2-1 and went on to win the cup after beating Liverpool in the final.
Roy Keane and David Beckham have on-pitch scrap
Robbie Keane and David Beckham, two well-tempered players in their day, clashed on the pitch in October 2001, with the forward receiving a yellow card for his role.
Keane was booked after shoving Beckham in the face as the two squared up, but his manager, David O’Leary, admitted afterwards that his player deserved a red.
The game ended in a 1-1 draw, and Ferguson was furious about the referee’s failure to brandish a red card.
The two players would put aside their differences, however, with Keane even speaking at Beckham’s statue unveiling at LA Galaxy’s Dignity Heath Sports Park stadium in 2019.
