In their previous fixtures, both teams had drawn, though Leeds' point at Anfield against Liverpool was arguably far more creditable than the Red Devils' draw at Old Trafford against bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Sesko disappointing again
The last fixture between the two teams in February 2023 had seen the visitors to Elland Road come away with a late 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, so the all whites had something of a score to settle on home turf.
Roared on by a partisan crowd 36,909, the match began at a ferocious pace; however, all four shots in the opening quarter hour, two from Leeds' Dominic Calvert-Lewin and one each from United's Manuel Ugarte and Benjamin Sesko, were either off target or blocked.
Sesko has endured a tough time in the English top-flight since making the move from RB Leipzig, and nothing in the early stages of the game suggested that Sunday's encounter would be any different.
With 15 minutes gone, the striker had only touched the ball five times, fewer than every other player on the pitch. If he truly wants to make a name for himself at the Theatre of Dreams, then Sesko has to become much more involved in different aspects of play.
Calvert-Lewin closest to breaking the deadlock
The action was lively if not particularly incisive, with the hosts getting the most joy down Man Utd's left side. Almost half of Leeds' attacking forays in the opening 45 would come down that area of the pitch.
Anton Stach's creation of three first-half chances for his teammates kept United's overworked back line on their toes, and the visitors were lucky to escape when Calvert-Lewin's third atempt of the game cannoned back off the woodwork.
It was the nearest Daniel Farke's side would come to an opener before half-time.
Despite United's best efforts, including one off target from Diogo Dalot in his 200th start across all competitions for the Red Devils, they too couldn't make the breakthrough.
Going in level at the break should've come as no surprise really, given that six of the previous nine Premier League meetings at Elland Road hadn't seen either club with a half-time advantage.
Poor pass completion from both sides
The fact that no goals had been scored wasn't just down to the profligacy of both teams' attacks, either. A collective pass completion rate of just 58.5% in the final third for both sides told its own story.
With Leeds arguably more in need of the points than their opponents, given the need to move away from the bottom three, the fact that they'd won just one of their 15 previous Premier League meetings with Man Utd that had been level at half time (D7 L7) - winning 1-0 at home in September 2002 - didn't bode well.
That said, the hosts came out the more purposeful of the two sides after the break, and when Brenden Aaronson was given the freedom of Elland Road and waltzed past three static United players, he took his finish coolly to give Leeds the upper hand.
A shame then that just 174 seconds later, the visitors were back on terms, sub Joshua Zirkzee supplying an assist just two minutes after coming on, for Matheus Cunha to slide home.
Zirkzee's only other contribution was a single touch in the Leeds box, which is also an indicator of just how bad the club's recruitment has been with strikers in the last couple of years.
Ugarte shows up teammates' lack of endeavour
At least Ugarte was ready to go to war with all and sundry, winning 10 of his one-on-ones, winning back possession eight times, and having three shots in the game - as many as any of his other United colleagues.
It was an all-action performance from the Uruguayan, and he deserved better from teammates who clearly weren't up for the fight.
Teammates who played the most passes to each other in defence, rather than being on the front foot in a game that means so much to supporters.
Of the three most passes made by a United player to a colleague in the match, Ayden Heaven's 16 were sideways to his defensive colleague, Lisandro Martinez, whilst the latter also played his most (15) back to Heaven.
13 of Leny Yoro's went to Dalot, and in the majority of those cases, the outball wasn't an attacking one, and that, more than anything else, evidences a major flaw with United's way of working at present.
Playing it safe isn't the Man Utd way
Yes, passes were made to other players, of course, but rarely were they risk-taking plays.
Playing it safe every now and then is necessary, but as a modus operandi for a team of United's stature, it's never going to curry favour with those who pay their hard-earned each and every week.
With more shots on target (three), touches in the opposition box (25) and final third entries (67) than United, Farke was right to feel aggrieved at full-time that his Leeds team just didn't have that little bit extra to see them grab all three points.
On a more positive note, it was the seventh Premier League game in a row that the all whites had remained unbeaten.
That was due in no small part to the industry of Gabriel Gudmundsson, who had the most dribbles and shots on target for Leeds (one), and was also in the top four players for tackles won (one), crosses attempted (two), completed passes in the final third (six) and total shots (one).
Ultimately, a point benefited no one in the circumstances, even if there were certain aspects of the game that both managers could be happy with.
