Man United 0-0 Leeds: Matheus Cunha impresses on debut as uninspired Red Devils misfire in preseason opener

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·19 juillet 2025

Man United 0-0 Leeds: Matheus Cunha impresses on debut as uninspired Red Devils misfire in preseason opener

Ruben Amorim has work to do ahead of the new campaign

Matheus Cunha made his Manchester United pre-season debut as the Red Devils were held to a 0-0 draw by Leeds in Stockholm.

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The Brazilian, starting for the first time under Ruben Amorim on a sunny afternoon at the Swedish capital’s Strawberry Arena, showed brief glimpses of the star power that convinced his new employers to shell out more than £60million for him earlier this summer.

But United’s new No10 and indeed the rest of Amorim’s troops ultimately failed to provide a breakthrough against Daniel Farke’s spirited Premier League returners, who will surely come away from Saturday’s match the happier of the two sides as a combined total of 44 players got their first 2025-26 pre-season minutes under their belts.

It means United have startedtheir pre-season with a win for the second year in a row, as the ghost of last season’s woeful form continues to linger over Amorim and co.

Back to the drawing board for the Portuguese manager now, then, with the hope that the imminent arrival of Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford might inspire an upturn in performances before the new season truly begins.

Farke, meanwhile, might be disappointed that his side were unable to convert their possession and chances into a decisive goal.

But this was by no means a poor showing by the men from West Yorkshire, who took the opportunity to hand debuts to several summer signings including Sean Longstaff, who completed his roughly £12million move from Newcastle United just the evening before. Jack Harrison also started, returning to his parent club after two straight years on loan at Goodison Park.

Leeds won’t face today’s opponents again until they host them at Elland Road in January, in what will be a first Premier League meeting between the two clubs since the Whites dropped down to the Championship in 2023.

Next up for United is a continuation of their pre-season tour, this time with a three-match stretch in the United States.

They’ll face West Ham on Sunday, Bournemouth next Thursday and Everton on 3 August, all as part of the Premier League Summer Series across the pond.

That will be followed by a meeting with Fiorentina at Old Trafford on 9 August, just before getting their Premier League campaign underway at home to Arsenal.

Leeds, meanwhile, are scheduled to face Villarreal at Elland Road on 2 August and then AC Milan in Dublin the following week during pre-season, after which they’ll welcome Everton for the first top-flight fixture at Elland Road in two years.