Mankind had successfully travelled around the far side of the moon – and could feasibly have done so again – during the 24-day break since Manchester United last kicked a ball in anger.
Four blank weekends had passed across an international break and a pause for the FA Cup quarter-finals that allowed last night’s opponents Leeds to keep their match sharpness while United were at a training camp in Dublin.
It’s the kind of break that can either allow teams to refresh and refocus on the final leg of the season, or it can knock them off their stride at a crucial point of the campaign.
On a wildly unpredictable night at Old Trafford, United discovered to their cost that it was the latter.
A second defeat in 11 games under head coach Michael Carrick was also their first in 19 Premier League matches at home to the old enemy from across the Pennines. How the Leeds fans lapped this up, and not just because it was three huge points in their battle against relegation thanks to two first-half goals from Noah Okafor.
After a weekend in which Chelsea and Aston Villa both dropped valuable points in the race for Champions League qualification, this was a chance for United to cement third place and they blew it spectacularly.
Noah Okafor scored twice as Leeds beat Man United 2-1 at Old Trafford on Monday evening
The loss was just the second for Michael Carrick since he took over as United boss in January
United stay third, but they would have gone 10 points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea with a win
At times they were utterly shambolic in front of co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and only really came to their senses after Lisandro Martinez was sent off in the second half on his return from injury as Casemiro headed his eighth goal of the season.
The Champions League is still well within United’s grasp, but they can ill afford another slip at Chelsea on Saturday night.
Carrick didn’t seem too concerned about the long period of inactivity when he spoke before kick-off. ‘When you say 24 days it seems a long time, but the internationals broke it up,’ said the United boss.
‘For those that went away it hasn’t been too different. We had a good few days away training and we made the most of it. There was a freshness about this week.’
United didn’t so much look fresh as stagnant during a wretched first half that was worse than anything they have produced since Carrick took over in January in the wake of Ruben Amorim’s self-destruction after the reverse fixture at Elland Road and subsequent sacking.
They were lucky to only be two goals down at the end of a first half that brought a chorus of boos around Old Trafford.
Without Harry Maguire through suspension, Carrick brought back Martinez alongside young Leny Yoro but they struggled to cope with the physical presence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin long before the red card.
United were also without Kobbie Mainoo, who picked up a knock in training, forcing Carrick to start Manuel Ugarte for the first time since he took over.
A pair of first half volleys from Okafor put Leeds fans in dreamland as they started superbly
United’s task was made even harder early in the second half when Lisandro Martinez was sent off after he pulled Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair
Martinez was given his marching orders by referee Paul Tierney following a VAR review
The Uruguayan’s previous nine starts this season had yielded just one win, and he showed again here why United will have to cut their losses on what has been a £50million mistake.
Ugarte and Casemiro were eclipsed by Leeds’ midfield of Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka, in particular, as a team that hadn’t scored in their last four Premier League games opened United up at will.
They could have been ahead inside three minutes when Gabriel Gudmundsson whipped in a cross from the left and Senne Lammens kept out Calvert-Lewin’s effort at point-blank range.
The let-off was temporary. Two minutes later, Ugarte failed to close down Jayden Bogle as he crossed from the other flank. Yoro miscued a header under pressure from Calvert-Lewin in a way Maguire would probably have not, and the ball landed at the feet of Okafor who instinctively stuck out his right boot to poke the ball home with Lammens stranded.
If the first goal was poor from United’s point of view, the second just before the half-hour mark was an absolute shambles.
Yoro made a great interception to cut out a cross from the right, but in the ensuing mess that followed Martinez played Casemiro into trouble and he lost possession to Ampadu, Ugarte blocked Brenden Aaronson’s shot, and Casemiro and Martinez both had chances to head clear before the ball dropped invitingly for Okafor whose volley took a heavy deflection off Yoro, again leaving Lammens helpless.
It was the first time United had been two goals down since Brentford in September, and it could so easily have been three after more chaotic defending on the stroke of half-time.
Lammens’ poor pass to Yoro enabled Tanaka to nick the ball away from Casemiro and go around the United goalkeeper, and only Martinez’s desperate late challenge prevented him from scoring in an open goal.
If United were ragged defensively, they were no better going forward after Carrick picked Benjamin Sesko ahead of Bryan Mbeumo. Amad Diallo was the only bright spark and Matheus Cunha produced their only effort of note in the first half after being booked for diving.
Surprisingly, Carrick made no changes at the interval, no doubt challenging the starting XI to dig themselves out of the hole they had created for themselves.
They began the second period promisingly as Sesko got clear of Jaka Bijol and forced a smart save from Karl Darlow.
Casemiro (left) pulled one back as Bruno Fernandes provided his 17th assist of the season
The victory was a crucial one for Leeds and takes them six points clear of the bottom three
United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was watching on and he would have been left unimpressed
But their problems deepened in the 55th minute when Martinez was sent off on his first appearance since early February.
It wasn’t immediately apparent when he challenged Calvert-Lewin for a high ball, but VAR official John Brooks alerted referee Paul Tierney to the fact that Martinez had responded to a flailing arm from the Leeds striker by pulling his hair, and he was shown a straight red card for violent conduct.
United pressed again. Darlow kept out Cunha’s effort but had no chance in the 69th minute when Bruno Fernandes picked out Casemiro at the far post with another great assist and the Brazilian guided a header inside the far post.
Casemiro so nearly got another when Calvert-Lewin cleared his header off the line from Fernandes’ cross, but Leeds deserved their win.
