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Leeds United Post Statement as Fan Tragically Dies Before Man Utd Game
Leeds United say they are “devastated” after having to announce that a supporter tragically passed away after a medical emergency at Elland Road ahead of their 1-1 draw with Manchester United.
Daniel Farke’s men managed to pick up a valuable point on home soil after Brenden Aaronson opened the scoring in the 62nd minute. The USMNT forward pushed and prodded all afternoon and his worth ethic finally paid off thanks to a combination of quick-thinking and poor defending from the visiting side.
The introduction of Joshua Zirkzee gave the Red Devils a new lease of life and Matheus Cunha, one of Ruben Amorim‘s summer additions, drew proceedings level a mere three minutes after the aforementioned Aaronson drew first blood, though neither side was able to find a match-winner.
Leeds Confirm Passing of Fan Ahead of Man Utd Draw
Elland Road played out a 1-1 draw between the two Premier League sides on Sunday and, as a result, Farke’s men are now eight points ahead of regulation time. Elsewhere, Amorim’s men are three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool, but the feisty affair has been overshadowed by the sad news that a Leeds fan passed away ahead of kick-off.
Ahead of the action getting underway in Yorkshire, a home fan was taken ill and a statement from the home club said there was a medical emergency in the ground prior to the 12:30 GMT kick-off. Yet to be named by Leeds, the club took to X (formerly Twitter) after picking up a share of the spoils on Sunday afternoon. They wrote:
“Leeds United are devastated to confirm that a supporter sadly passed away ahead of our Premier League fixture with Manchester United at Elland Road, following a medical emergency in the ground before kick-off.
“The thoughts of everyone at Leeds United are with the family and friends of the supporter at this exceptionally difficult time,” the club concluded in their statement, which was released three hours after the full-time whistle.
At the time of writing, no further details about the person who died or the circumstances of their passing have been released. Manchester United, in response to Leeds’ social media message, replied with their sincerest condolences: “The thoughts of everyone at Manchester United are with the supporter and their family.”
Amorim and Farke Respond to a Share of the Spoils
Continuing their fine run of form (they are now unbeaten in seven league outings) as they hope to avoid the prospect of relegation back to the Championship, Leeds manager Farke expressed his ‘slight disappointment’ at his team only managing to pick up one point. “First of all, I have to say I’m proud of the lads because it was, of course, tricky circumstances for us,” he said.
“We had to go over the line two and a half days ago to get a hard-earned clean sheet (at Liverpool). And then without several key players for today.”
“Everyone tells you how big this game is. Lots of expectations and to go into this game is then tricky. So for that, I am very proud of the mentality of my players to show resilience again,” Leeds’ German tactician concluded.
“I think we played well,” Lisbon-born Amorim said before adding: “I think we had more control in this game than we showed against Wolves, that is also important when you prepare [for] the next week, you can run with a different message than we showed in the last game.”
