Manchester United and Leeds United played a pre-season friendly match at Croke Park in Dublin on August 12, 2026, marking the first association football game at the venue since 2009 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Over 80,000 spectators attended the sold-out event [1, 3, 4].
The match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes. Joshua Zirkzee scored for Manchester United in the 16th minute before Brenden Aaronson equalized for Leeds just before the half-hour mark [1, 3, 4, 5]. The game was disrupted late on by pitch invaders who ran onto the field to take selfies with Bruno Fernandes, causing delay until referee Neil Doyle ended the match [1, 3, 4, 5].
The outcome was decided by a penalty shootout. Manchester United won 5-4, with Noussair Mazraoui scoring the decisive penalty after Leeds' James Justin hit the crossbar [1, 3, 4, 5]. Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty during the shootout, forcing the contest into sudden death [1, 3, 4, 5]. Mazraoui reflected on the event, saying, "You don't want to see it, but it shows the big love they have for this club. We're enjoying it and the atmosphere today was amazing from the fans" [5].
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick praised the team’s first-half performance saying, "First half we were really dangerous and could’ve had a number of goals. We played some really good football." He noted several young players got game time during the match [1]. Carrick also commented on Marcus Rashford’s return to the club after a loan spell at Barcelona, describing Rashford as "our player" who had "been in great spirits since he’s come back" [1]. Rashford, alongside Lisandro Martínez and Kobbie Mainoo, did not play in Dublin but was held in reserve for Manchester United’s next friendly against AC Milan in Wroclaw, Poland on August 15, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
