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Manchester United logo
Premier League
Nov 29, 1998 at 3pm UK
 
Leeds logo

3-2

Keane (46'), Butt (77'), Gunnar Solskjaer (45')
FT(HT: 1-1)

On this day: Manchester United edge out Leeds United in five-goal thriller

Sixteen years ago today, Manchester United recorded a 3-2 victory over rivals Leeds United at Old Trafford.

Presently, when asked to name Manchester United's main rivals, a lot of people will respond with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal.

However, there is another fixture involving the Red Devils that still sparks much antagonism between the two sets of supporters, not that it has been played out too often in recent years - United vs. Leeds United.

There is a debate as to where the animosity stems from: Some claim that it dates back to the Wars of the Roses, while those of a certain vintage point to a particularly fiery FA Cup semi-final involving the two sides in 1965.

When they met at Old Trafford 16 years ago today, the encounter may not have been as controversial as some of the others produced by their counterparts, yet it was nonetheless entertaining.

Leeds arrived two points behind their third-placed hosts and they broke the deadlock with 29 minutes played. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink inherited possession wide on the left and having cut inside Phil Neville, the Dutch striker squeezed his low shot inside Peter Schmeichel's near post.

Australian winger Harry Kewell then spurned an opportunity to put the visitors 2-0 up when his wayward lob missed the target and he was duly punished 60 seconds before the break.

United frontman Dwight Yorke danced away from one Leeds challenge, before he picked out Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Despite a narrow angle, the Norwegian went for goal and ended up finding the far corner of the net.

Then, just one minute after the restart, Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who had replaced the injured Nigel Martyn during the break, was beaten without having touched the ball. Paul Scholes got to the right byline and cut the ball back for his midfield partner Roy Keane, who fired in his first Premier League goal in 14 months.

Leeds refused to accept their fate, though, and they were level in the 52nd minute as Kewell on this occasion kept his composure. He pounced on a mistake from Wes Brown and as Schmeichel approached, the Aussie calmly lifted the ball beyond the Dane's reach.

Yet, the final say would go the way of United 13 minutes from time. On the edge of the area, Nicky Butt dragged the ball away from David Wetherall and then as Jonathan Woodgate looked to shut down the space, the United midfielder powered his shot into the roof of Robinson's net.

MAN UNITED: Schmeichel; G Neville, Stam (Berg), Brown, P Neville; Scholes (Sheringham), Butt, Keane, Solskjaer; Yorke, Cole (Giggs)

LEEDS: Martyn (Robinson); Halle, Woodgate, Hiden (Wetherall), Harte; Haaland, McPhail, Hopkin, Ribeiro (Smith), Kewell; Hasselbaink

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The Leeds United club badge outside Elland Road Stadium on January 9, 2013
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