A blood-and-thunder start to one of English football’s most heated rivalries was unsurprising, with an early flurry of yellow cards providing the entertainment in the opening 20 minutes.
It took both sides quite a while to hit their stride in an attacking sense, but when they did, they traded blows midway through the first half.
It was Leeds who had the first big opening when Anton Stach’s pinpoint delivery found the unmarked Nico Elvedi six yards from goal, and his downward header bounced down into the ground before Senne Lammens palmed it away to safety.
An even bigger opportunity presented itself for the visitors seconds later at the other end, with Youri Tielemans curling a cross onto the head of the unmarked Bryan Mbeumo. It seemed for all the world that the Cameroonian would steer a header into the corner, but he incredibly diverted his effort wide.
He more than made amends for that miss on 35 minutes though when some clever movement inside the area saw him sneak in behind James Justin to guide another pinpoint Tielemans delivery in the corner.
With United’s current plight, they were never likely to be resting easily, and their worst fears were realised six minutes after the restart.
There was an element of simplicity in how it came about too, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin was quickest to react to Tarik Muharemovic’s knockdown, sweeping home an equaliser to leave United shell-shocked.
Leeds continued to probe to nose ahead for the first time, but wild efforts from Ao Tanaka and Anton Stach saw half-chances come and go.
The best chance for a third goal fell the way of Bruno Fernandes, whose heavy touch inadvertently opened up space for him to flash an effort narrowly wide of the target.
Perhaps owing to the high stakes of the game, there wasn’t a big push from either side to claim a late winner.
United boss Michael Carrick did make an attacking change by bringing on Matheus Cunha, but it was too late for him to make a meaningful impact, and the game fizzled out into a stalemate, which was enough to see United’s unbeaten head-to-head run at Elland Road stretch to eight matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Youri Tielemans (Manchester United)
