Man Utd edge Leeds in friendly shoot-out but Rashford absent

So, United and Leeds traded blows in Dublin, ending up 1-1. A friendly, sure. But Carrick's lads still needed penalties to win it, 5-4. Joshua Zirkzee put United ahead early, 16 minutes in, tapping in a Bryan Mbeumo cross. Not long after, Dan James and Brenden Aaronson decided Leeds weren't playing nice. Equaliser.

Carrick, wisely, started with the reserves. Why show your hand in a friendly? Key men like Bruno Fernandes and new boy Youri Tielemans stayed on the bench. Until after the hour mark, that is. Then they came on. And, shocker, United looked better. Created a few chances for Matheus Cunha. Fernandes even rattled the crossbar late on. He had one chalked off for offside too. Shame.

The shootout was a scrappy affair. Both teams choked a bit from the spot. Noussair Mazraoui, though, buried the winner for United. James Justin's miss sealed Leeds' fate. Farke's side has still managed ten goals over five pre-season matches, mind you. That's something.

But back to Rashford. He trained all week, remember? Still a no-show. This was meant to be his grand re-integration. The 82,000 souls packed into Croke Park? They didn't get their first look at him in a United shirt for over 18 months. What's the story there? Nobody's saying.