Man Utd delivered a gutsy performance at Leeds as they earned a 1-1 draw that should at least buy Michael Carrick some more time.

The last time Manchester United drew 1-1 at Elland Road an under-pressure manager was sacked the next day. Michael Carrick should sleep a little easier than Ruben Amorim did back in January after a performance that delivered more encouragement than the result suggested.

Carrick has now overseen a run of just two wins from 10 games, and United are now six without success, but strangely, this feels like a week that might actually provide a platform for him to ride out this storm.

That seems an odd thing to say when a draw at Leeds follows a Champions League defeat in Madrid, after which Lisandro Martinez turned his anger on to the club's board and threatened to start a messy and public civil war. Martinez spent a couple of hours on Thursday negotiating the wording of his public apology, which didn't actually see him apologise for what he said.

It left the parallels for the second trip to Leeds of 2026 a little too close to home for Carrick. United's last visit to Elland Road was 288 days ago. They arrived with a manager under pressure, Jason Wilcox the public face of internal criticism and a back three formation that was causing more problems than it was solving. At least those 288 days were put to good use.

But Carrick got the kind of performance from his players that Amorim rarely could. Martinez had made clear the dressing room didn't blame the 45-year-old for their struggles this season, a view shared privately by other senior players, and this was a display full of grit and commitment, if not the quality you would expect.

Carrick's selection at Elland Road, with Ayden Heaven unwell, looked pretty routine, but it soon became clear this was a set-up with a difference. Having used his tried and trusted 4-2-3-1 system since January, he felt he had to roll the dice in West Yorkshire, with the pressure building just nine games into the season.

It was hard to decipher United's actual formation early on. Carrick had praised the quality of the training session at Carrington on Friday and if they used it to get to grips with this approach, they would have had to concentrate hard.

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It was a back three out of possession, with Amad and Diogo Dalot reprising their wing-back roles under Amorim, while Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo played close to each other in attack.

It took United a while to get to grips with the game, although they weren't under any real pressure either. They didn't have a touch in the Leeds penalty area until the 27th minute, but it should have produced a goal. Mbeumo, guilty of missing two glorious chances in Madrid, spurned another, heading Youri Tielemans' cross wide when under no pressure.

He looked unsure again when racing on to a long pass from Carlos Baleba, but made no mistake a few minutes later. Tielemans and Amad combined well down the right-hand side, with the midfielder sending in a low cross which Mbeumo poked beyond James Trafford at the near post.

United ended the half on top after what was arguably their most complete 45 minutes of the season, but it took just six minutes of the second half for that to be undone. Leeds' only first-half chance came from a set-piece, and when half-time arrival Noussair Mazraoui needlessly conceded a corner, you feared the worst.

Tarik Muharemovic won the first header and Dominic Calvert-Lewin had escaped the attentions of Baleba to control the ball and thrash home a volley. In a season full of them, this was another test of United's character, with Elland Road finding its voice.

Again, however, they managed to find a measure of control. The patience of this midfield three has been an ideal antidote for a team feeling the pressure. Gradually, United worked their way back to a strong position, aided by their desire to match the home side's intensity.

United could have wilted at times in this game, but they showed the character and spirit that Carrick had talked so glowingly about on Friday. They never shirked a tackle and were happy to get into the trenches when required.

Having rediscovered some control, Fernandes and Amad flashed efforts wide, and United had moments when they could have found a winner. They lived on the edge in injury time, with an unconvincing Senne Lammens punch turned back towards goal by Anton Stach, only for the goalkeeper to clutch the loose ball at the second attempt.

Carrick might have seen the last 10 months flash before his eyes at that moment, but he quickly waved his players forward for one final attack, and unlike Amorim in January, he will live to fight another day.