Steven Gerrard has given his view after Manchester United earned a hard-fought point against Leeds United at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon

Steven Gerrard believes Michael Carrick has finally found the Manchester United midfield partnership he must continue with. United are now six games without a win following Sunday’s feisty draw with Leeds United at Elland Road.

But despite the 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid, Carrick stuck with Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans in the middle of midfield. That allowed Bruno Fernandes to move in off the right-hand side, and speaking on The Overlap, Gerrard, following on from what Gary Neville said over the weekend, believes United were much more compact in the middle of the pitch than they have been.

He said: “It was a little bit strange and different how Manchester United set up. Mainoo obviously wasn't available, I like Mainoo, I think he's a really good player.

“But I think when it's Mainoo and Tielemans in there, and Fernandes, I think those three as a group, they lack a bit of dynamism, a bit of legs if you like.

Make sure you never miss the latest Manchester United news and opinion by making Manchester Evening News one of your Google preferred sources.

“With Santos and Baleba, there's a bit more power, a bit more physicality, they can get about a little bit more, so you can understand why Michael went with that personnel, especially against Leeds, a bit of a derby, you probably knew there was going to be a bit of a needle in the game. A few tackles.

“It did look stronger and more secure. United played in a system where it looked a bit more like a 4-2-4, sometimes there's a wing-back down on that left side, and Amad was covering down at the right.

“It actually looked like Fernandes and Tielemans were playing as two 10s, but they were filling in for each other out of possession. But I think as a team and a group, the team that Michael and Steve Holland went for, you can understand why they went for that.

“It was stronger, it was more compact, but the big thing for me was, there was more of that [pumps fist] about them, there was more running, there were more tackles, they were up for it.”

Speaking on his own Sky Sports podcast following Sunday’s game, Neville said: "I actually think Baleba and Santos did a decent job in there today. You'd have said at the start of the season 'who is going to be your two?' that would have been your last two.

"You'd have said Mainoo, you'd have definitely said Tielemans or Mainoo in there. Maybe them two could be the way forward because the defence is not good enough. Baleba and Santos do protect it, and they need protecting."

Neville also believes that Carrick made a crucial step in showing an ability to adapt at a difficult time, something that former United boss Ruben Amorim failed to do.

He added: "To be fair to Baleba and Santos they protected that back four today. Tielemans and Fernandes have gone in front. What Michael Carrick has done today is he's adjusted; he's adapted.

"If you look back 12 months, how many games did we do together under Ruben Amorim? We watched a lot of games and he never adjusted. He kept Bruno and Casemiro in there. You kept thinking 'just adjust, you've got to adapt'. He said 'he'll obviously die in a ditch over my system'.

"Michael Carrick, to be fair, doesn't want to play no centre forwards at times, which at times we had no centre forwards today. Amad was chasing back with Gudmundsson and Mbeumo was going back with Justin and Bogle. But he's adjusted, he's adapted, he's made them more competitive today and he's got a performance out of them that's a lot better.

"Manchester United fans have stayed behind today and clapped Carrick and the players. That's not because they think that's the best team in the world. They can recognise they've gone out there today and put a shift in. They've won the duels, they've thrown their head at it. It's a low base that Manchester United fans accept.

"They want to win titles and Champions Leagues but if you fight for them, they'll stay with you for a long time. If you don't run and you don't show effort they'll boo you off the pitch or they'll boo you after 25 minutes like against Tottenham at home last week.

"We're not going to get carried away, we are talking about a depressed standard and a low expectation right now, seven points from seven, worst start since 1986. But it'll feel like a stepping stone for Michael Carrick and it'll feel like the first step on the ladder in the Premier League and they may get some confidence from that. There might be a blueprint from there thinking maybe we just have to bring Cunha and Rashford and others off the bench and go a bit more solid."