Manchester United delivered a more committed performance in a changed formation but were held to a 1-1 draw by Leeds as pressure on Michael Carrick continues to grow.
In a week that included defeat to Atletico Madrid and an explosive interview from Lisandro Martinez - who started at Elland Road - the noise was calmed somewhat by a display that showed character, if not enough quality to claim a second league win of the season.
United played without a recognised striker for the majority, allowing Youri Tielemans a more offensive role and he combined with Bryan Mbeumo to open the scoring in the first half.
But Carrick's side faded badly as the game went on, another fixture in which they were outrun, eventually pegged back by an instinctive Dominic Calvert-Lewin strike from a poorly defended corner.
Leeds away was pitched as the worst game to end a fractious week. In reality, it forced United to scrap and that at least appeared to show appetite for the fight. "In isolation, going to Leeds and performing how they did was a decent result," reflected Jamie Carragher. They were helped by the fact that Daniel Farke's side were not at their battling best either.
There was, however, far more intent shown than in last week's drab draw with Spurs at Old Trafford, where disgruntled fans booed the team off, albeit results will read one Premier League win from seven - and none since August.
Carrick will know that return is not good enough to dispel unwanted talk of pressure on his position.
27: CHANCE! Mbeumo connects with Tielemans' cross but heads off target unmarked.
35: GOAL! Mbeumo makes no mistake with his second chance from the boot of Tielemans, guiding a low finish past James Trafford.
45: SUB! Martinez is replaced at half-time by Noussair Mazraoui but Carrick sticks with back-three formation.
51: GOAL! Calvert-Lewin latches onto Tarik Muharemovic's knockdown from a corner and beats Senne Lammens from close range.
Man Utd defender Harry Maguire:
"We worked on it [the change of shape] this week. We wanted to match them up without the ball and go quite aggressive.
"We knew we could get a lot of joy in the middle of the pitch with them only playing two in there.
"That's probably the area of the game where we could have done more. We could have been a bit braver with the ball and taken the ball under pressure.
"But we're in a circumstance where we are not as brave as we should be, and we have to get that back because to win games for Manchester United we have to have that bravery and composure."
Man Utd boss Michael Carrick:
"There was definitely commitment. It had to be there today. I didn't doubt that. I was looking forward to the game to see that, there was definitely an edge and intensity to it.
"I spoke to the boys this morning about the history of this game, what it means to the supporters, to the football club. It definitely tests you. It wasn't a perfect performance but there was a lot in there to show determination to get a result.
"We're not getting too carried away because we didn't win the game. It felt like a bit of a fresh start today, in terms of where we're at. The boys are desperate to do well for each other and the club."
On the formation change: "There was a freshness. We had a different spine, that's a massive positive for us. A little tweak tactically, not a huge change. We had to adapt to what their strengths are."
Leeds boss Daniel Farke:
"It says a lot about how far we've come in the last three years that we are slightly disappointed it was just a point against Manchester United. Overall, it was not necessary to be in a losing position at half-time, I thought we were the dominant side.
"We lacked a bit in our decision-making in the first half, we added clarity in the second half. We had momentum completely on our side. We threatened them with physicality, maybe it wasn't the time for our more technical players.
"We are definitely on the right path. This is a special game. I wanted to go for it, it's a sign that we're doing many things in the right way."
Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin:
"We could've played with a bit more quality in the final third, particularly in the first half. We were getting good quality in the box, but just not enough numbers.
"We made sure in the second half we came out with more confidence going forward. I think we were unlucky not to win the game."
