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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Samuel Meade

Ralf Rangnick's view on Elland Road after admitting he 'didn't know Leeds were rivals'

Ralf Rangnick confessed that the atmosphere inside Elland Road was "amazing" during Manchester United's hard-fought win.

The Red Devils took the lead, were pegged back before again racing clear as they claimed the three points.

Sunday's clash was the first Premier League meeting between the two sides with fans in attendance for 18 years.

The Leeds United faithful roared on their side despite going 2-0 down by half-time.

A crazy second-half minute however saw the game levelled as Rodrigo, and then Raphinha, scored for the Whites to make it 2-2.

That resulted in Elland Road reaching fever pitch as the home crowd dreamt of a memorable comeback victory over their arch rivals.

Rangnick admitted after the match: “We conceded two goals in a minute and that changed the whole game. The atmosphere was amazing during those five minutes."

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United were able to weather the storm as the heavens opened in west Yorkshire.

Fred put them back in front after 77 minutes before Anthony Elanga made the game safe.

Rangnick has never previously worked in England despite spending time here back in his early life.

Leeds' decline meant they weren't a regular fixture for United after their relegation in 2004 but the hostility between the two teams remains.

The German had to be somewhat educated last week as he revealed a colleague made him aware of the rivalry.

He said in the lead up to the game: "To be honest, I didn't know that until a week ago, but most of my colleagues have already indicated that this is probably one of the biggest rivalries in the Premier League.

"Of course, I also had quite a few of those, we call them local derbies in Germany, with Schalke v Borussia Dortmund just to give you one example."

The rivalry with Leeds dates back decades and players crossing the divide has only served to ramp up the animosity.

Eric Cantona's move back in 1992 in seen by many as the catalyst that propelled the Red Devils on to domestic dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Frenchman had won the top flight with Leeds but that summer headed to Old Trafford, where he would win four league titles in five years.

Roy Keane said on his former teammate: "Well, obviously I had seen Eric before I signed for United but you don’t get to know personalities until you sign for a club.

"Eric was obviously a brilliant player, scored big goals for Man United, big character, good personality, good lad for a night out, good lad in the trenches when you’re at away grounds.

"People refer to him as a bit of a maverick but he loved the game, he was a good lad for training and he got United over the line. A good guy to go with it."

More recently Alan Smith joined the Red Devils after Leeds' relegation in 2004.

Daniel James moved the other way back in the summer after two years in Manchester and played for the Whites on Sunday.

The Welshman claimed in the lead up to the game he would've had no problems celebrating against his former side had he found the back of the net.

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