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Manchester United vs. Leeds United Rivalry: Blast from the Past

By Varun Aithal

21 Apr 2001: Roy Keane of Manchester United shouts at Alf Inge Haaland of Manchester City following his red card during the FA Carling Premiership match played at Old Trafford, in Manchester, England. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. \ Mandatory Credit: Gary M Prior/Allsport
21 Apr 2001: Roy Keane of Manchester United shouts at Alf Inge Haaland of Manchester City following his red card during the FA Carling Premiership match played at Old Trafford, in Manchester, England. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. \ Mandatory Credit: Gary M Prior/Allsport /
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Manchester United go head-to-head against Leeds United at Old Trafford on Sunday. Here are a few episodes from the past of their rivalry.

Better known as “The Roses Rivalry”, the heated rivalry between Manchester United and Leeds United is incomparable. Whenever the two sides have met each other in the past, there have been instances where tempers have flared over the top.

Not only the fans, the players too have been involved in scuffles on and off the pitch. However, the rivalry in the Premier League came to an end when Leeds United were relegated to the Championship in 2004.

Now the feast for fans is back with Leeds getting promoted to the top-flight. The Elland Road outfit are in the Premier League after 17 seasons of absence and are going strong on their return. On Sunday, they go up against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer‘s “Tricky Reds” in one of the best football stadiums across Europe, i.e, at Old Trafford.

Though there will be no fans during the game, there is no doubt that the hostilities will be renewed. Despite the two teams meeting on several occasions in recent years in different cup matches, the rivalry in the top-flight is unparallel.

After the game against Sheffield United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sounded eager to face the Whites.

He said:

"We should be more used to the Old Trafford pitch than these pitches so hopefully we’ll start. It’s a massive game for us, we know that. We’ve been waiting for years to get this game on and we’ll be ready for it. (Via: manutd.com)"

It is time for fans to refresh their memories of the past. Here are three incidents to refresh the rivalry:

#1) Roy Keane vs Alf-Inge Haaland

One of the most famous episodes in the rivalry between the duo belongs to Roy Keane and Alf-Inge Haaland. Things heated up when Alf-Inge Haaland was in white against Keane. The ex-United skipper tried to unsettle Leeds’ defense in both halves but the Whites had the lead.

With just 10 minutes to go in the game, sloppy passing caused a counter-attack from Leeds. Roy Keane was up against four opposition players and the nearest one was Haaland. The player tried to foul him but snapped his ACL.

Haaland went near Keane and accused him of a fake injury. However, Roy Keane was out for the rest of the season following the challenge. Despite meeting on numerous occasions in the next three and a half years, the Manchester United player remained lull.

However, the personal rivalry flared up when both men met in the Manchester Derby of 2001. The Red Devils’ midfielder decided to settle the score with four minutes remaining in the game.

The player tackled Haaland with his studs up and injured his right knee. Later, the player revealed in his autobiography that it was pre-planned to settle the scores against Alf-Inge Håland.

He wrote:

"I’d waited long enough. I fucking hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you cunt. And don’t ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries (Via: Guardian)"

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