At a Glance
The Red Devils' poor recent struggles persisted at Leeds' fortress, but manager Ruben Amorim had his Brazilian forward to thank for his side not suffering even more disappointment against Leeds.
The Everton loanee headed a first-period attempt against the woodwork for the in-form hosts before Brenden Aaronson finished superbly with a low, 62nd-minute effort.
With the goal, Amorim was in the firing line after his side had been held by struggling Wolves at home earlier in the week.
Nevertheless, against opponents who had less time to recover, the forward levelled three minutes after the opener when he ran on to a through ball from introduced Joshua Zirkzee and guided a shot underneath rushing Leeds goalkeeper Lucas Perri.
It was only the Brazilian's fourth goal since his high-profile summer move and came at a time when Amorim is without four key attacking players due to a mix of fitness issues and national team commitments.
Not that you would expect Leeds to sympathise with that given their own lack of preparation time.
The Swiss attacker forced a full length save out of Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens with a audacious overhead kick, and United heads were in hands when the Slovenian striker, who is struggling to make an impact, turned his teammate's cut-back wide from six yards out.
The goalscorer, who had a goal disallowed for offside much earlier in the match, also fired against a post late on.
The point extends the home side's unbeaten run to seven games, their longest such streak since 2001, and takes them a significant margin clear of the drop zone.
For the Manchester United though, it was yet another chance to move into fourth spot, albeit only for a short time, wasted.
With the AFCON reaching its knockout phase, Amorim could be forgiven for hoping the involved countries make a pretty quick exit.
Existing injuries to skipper Bruno Fernandes and England international Mason Mount only heightened the impact the unavailability of other forwards is having on Amorim's squad.
It's not that the absent players are the solution to all of United's problems. After all, they were part of the side that suffered poor results earlier in the season.
But without them, the boss has few attacking options.
He clearly does not trust teenager Shea Lacey or the seasoned Joshua Zirkzee, even though the Dutch forward provided the assist for the equaliser almost immediately after his introduction as a replacement.
That leaves the Brazilian, who has now scored three goals in recent outings, and others playing out of their natural positions, alongside Benjamin Sesko.
On this evidence, the expensive frontman looks no better than previous underwhelming signings, lacking in belief and assurance in front of goal.
His failure to turn home the cross means it is now nine games without a goal for the new signing.
After thrilling victories in their previous home games, the arrival of their biggest rivals to Elland Road was a bit drab affair.
True, there were moments of typical atmosphere, but the intimidating edge was not as pronounced as in previous fixtures.
The home fans were more concerned about their side's struggle to get worthwhile possession in dangerous areas for any length of time.
The Calvert-Lewin header that clipped the post was an rare moment of quality in a congested first half.
It still felt as though Leeds were struggling when a defensive error opened the door for the opener.
For a short moment, Leeds' ecstatic fans thought they were about to secure a coveted win against their old foes.
Nevertheless, there is a much bigger picture for Daniel Farke and Leeds to deal with.
When they endured a poor run of form earlier in the season, many thought about the manager's future.
In contrast, he is now overseeing clear progress.
The job is not done yet but step by step, Leeds are getting closer to achieving their top-flight status.
Leeds have a Premier League trip to Newcastle in midweek, followed by the start of their FA Cup campaign next weekend. The Red Devils face a Premier League trip to Turf Moor before also entering their cup journey with a home tie.
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