Leeds United 0-3 Manchester United

Manchester United eased into the League Cup fourth round with a comfortable 3-0 victory over fierce rivals Leeds United at Elland Road. Michael Owen marked his first start of the season with his first two goals of the campaign before Ryan Giggs added a third before half time. As expected Sir Alex Ferguson rang the changes naming Michael Carrick in central defence alongside young defender Ezekiel Fryers. Antonio Valencia dropped back to right full-back which allowed Mame Diouf to come into the midfield alongside Giggs and Park Ji-Sung. Federico Macheda was given his chance as part of a front three with Dimitar Berbatov and Owen. Leeds made two changes from the side that beat Bristol City in their previous game with Leigh Bromby replacing the suspended Patrick Kisnorbo and Luciano Becchio coming in for Ramon Nunez. Youngsters Tom Lees and Aidan White continued in defence with former Manchester City trainee Adam Clayton lining up in midfield. As you would expect this game began at quite a pace and the lively atmosphere in the stands only helped increase the tempo. Simon Grayson's team very nearly opened the scoring in the fifth minute; a right wing corner was met by Darren O’Dea at the back post, his header was cleared off the line but only as far as Lees but his shot was blocked and United were able to clear. Leeds were unable to make their early pressure the pay and the game began to scrappy until the 15th minute when United took the lead. Berbatov released Park behind the Leeds defence, he rolled the ball into Owen, who got a little bit of luck as he scuffed a left foot shot into the bottom corner sending Lonergan the wrong way. The hosts did not let the goal get them down and continued to play on the counter attack and pressure the make shift Manchester United defence. In the 21st minute Becchio had a great chance, however after wriggling through three challenges he could only fire straight at Amos from 20 yards. After failing to take the chances they had created Leeds were punished again in the 32nd minute and it was that man Owen again dishing out the punishment. Diouf won the ball on the right hand side from Aidan White, he rolled the ball into Owen on the edge of the area and he blasted the ball into the top corner past Lonergan. Four minutes later the visitors nearly extended their lead after another flowing move that began with Berbatov. The Bulgarian played a neat ball into Owen, he jinked passed two defenders and played a low cross to Valencia but at full stretch he couldn’t guide it into the net. The visitors ended the half in total control of this game, with the crowd silenced and the Leeds players struggling to create any notable chances. In fact a poor clearance in the closing minutes gave the ball to Diouf on the right hand side, with Park and Berbatov both waiting for a pull back the youngster decided to try and beat Lonergan at his near post but was unable to. With seconds to go to the break the impressive Giggs added a third goal after some poor defending from the home side. The Welshman took a quick corner to Fabio, he played it back to Giggs who nutmegged White and blasted the ball past Lonergan from 10 yards. The hosts began the second half keen to get themselves back into the game as quickly as possible but they continued to find it hard to break through the Manchester United defence. Indeed, the first chance of the second period fell to the visitors and it was very nearly a third goal for Owen. Berbatov controlled the ball on his chest, turned and ran at the Leeds defence before finding his strike partner. Owen took the ball into the penalty area before cutting inside his marker but his chip was just wide with Lonergan well beaten. With the hosts making three changes early in the second half they struggled to get back into the game and they spent a lot of the half watching their opponents passing the ball in front of them. They did create some openings through Mika Vayrynen but the final delivery continued to be the problem as the United defence coped easily. The visitors always looked the most dangerous although they took their foot off the gas in the second half. The introduction of Danny Wellbeck will have been good to see for Sir Alex Ferguson after the striker had been out in recent weeks through injury and the opportunity to give Paul Pogba and Lornell Cole their first outings will also have pleased the United boss. Chances at both end dried up in a slow second half with the visitors happy to keep possession and work the ball across the pitch and frustrate their opponents. When referee Mike Jones blew the final whistle there were cheers from the away end, frustration from the home fans and a sense of a job well done by Sir Alex’s men.