Manchester United bounced back from a disappointing 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in a mid-week Champions League fixture to put on a promising display in a 1-1 draw against Leeds United.

While the side will be disappointed not to leave Elland Road with all three points after going 1-0 up in the first half, Michael Carrick's side has finally shown glimpses of an upward trajectory after a terrible start to the season.

After a week full of disappointment and media scrutiny, Lisandro Martínez's away trip to bitter rivals Leeds would have been the last thing Michael Carrick wanted, but his side rose to the occasion.

There was an unsurprising hostility from within Elland Road, and United went toe-to-toe with the home side, who were looking to make the game as scrappy as they could, with a couple of heavy challenges being exchanged early on in the game, but after weathering the opening 20 minutes, United enjoyed much more of the ball and were rewarded with a 1-0 lead at half-time through a Bryan Mbeumo goal.

While much of the focus was on Lisandro Martinez coming on after his mid-week comments, Harry Maguire shone on the day as United nullified much of Leeds' attacking threat, with the back five coping well with the home side's physicality.

The English centre-back's performance didn't go unnoticed, with Jamie Carragher praising the 33-year-old's display against Leeds.

Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, he said, "Going away to Leeds is going to be tricky for any team except for Manchester City and Arsenal at the moment.

"A lot of teams will take a point at Leeds this season but the problem for Manchester United is the results have been so poor that they need to start winning games so it almost feels like two points dropped.

"But in isolation, getting a point at Leeds is a decent result. I thought Harry Maguire was fantastic, especially in the second half.

"After Leeds got that goal back, there was a stage of the game where it felt like Man United could go under, but Maguire at the back held it together for them. He was fantastic."

Despite decent performances in their last two outings, Carrick's side managed just one point, failing to hold on to a one-goal lead against Leeds United, and lost 2-0 to Atletico Madrid after missing several good chances.

After their poor start to life in the 2026/27 campaign, a decent performance against Leeds, who themselves have enjoyed a good start to this season, could certainly be seen as promising signs of what's to come from Manchester United, with the squad seemingly emerging from the mid-week drama on a more positive note.

With all that being said, a promising performance only papers over the cracks of what's going on at the club, as they endure their worst start to a league season since 1986 and are now winless in six games.

Manchester United now travel to face Como on Wednesday the 21st, who sit fifth in Serie A, having lost only once this season, before hosting 15th-placed Bournemouth on Sunday the 25th, after the south coast side picked up their first win of the season against Sunderland on the 18th.