Luke Ayling is refusing to be too disheartened after Leeds United were dealt a swift one-two at Elland Road. Despite looking like the better team against Manchester United for chunks of the game, the Whites were condemned to another Premier League defeat.
Late goals from Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho snatched all three points and plunged Leeds further into a relegation crisis. The result means a managerless side have now won just twice in their previous 19 top-flight outings.
To his credit, Ayling was one of his side’s better players against the Red Devils. The 31-year-old received the highest score in our LeedsLive post-match ratings, but he admitted the club's mounting injury problems and lingering managerial situation played their part in the defeat.
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Speaking after the game, Ayling stayed positive but rued the opportunity given to red-hot Man United striker Marcus Rashford. He told LUTV: “We played really well for 80 minutes and gave it our all. We had some big chances in the second half especially. They are the moments that change games. We had them pinned (back) in the second half.
“They (Man United) have one chance, you can't give a player (Rashford), who has that much confidence, time in the box to score goals. So yeah, we have to take the positives from it.
“We played so well in midweek as well. We’ve got five or six injuries, players who could be starting as well. Our squad is smaller and it showed in the last 10 minutes. But we can be proud of the last four days, in a week that's been tricky for the club. We stuck together and played really well in these two games. Now we move on to next Saturday.
Ayling also praised interim manager Micheal Skubala and his coaching setup for their spontaneous work on the training ground in recent days. He added: “Skubs (Skubala) and his staff have done a brilliant job these last four days and our team ethics shows that. We will keep plugging along until things change.”
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