A 50:50 image with Leeds manager Daniel Farke smiling on the left and goalkeeper James Trafford on the right in action against Man United.

James Trafford did well in his Leeds debut vs Man UnitedImago

James Trafford shines as exit-linked teammate stinks out Dublin - Leeds player ratings vs Man United

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Published on:

12 Aug 2026, 8:34 pm

Leeds United lost on penalties to Manchester United in their penultimate pre-season game at Croke Park in Dublin on Wednesday.

Daniel Farke's men played out a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes, but misses by Harry Wilson and James Justin proved vital in a 5-4 penalty shoot-out defeat.

In what was their biggest test before the Premier League season kicks off next week against Nottingham Forest, Farke opted to give record signing James Trafford his first game in Leeds colours.

Unfortunately for Trafford, he found himself conceding just 16 minutes thanks to a Joshua Zirkzee goal, that came as a result of a quick-fire Man United counter-attack.

Thirteen minutes later, Daniel James won possession deep in Man United's half to assist Brenden Aaronson's equaliser.

Farke changed 10 out of 11 players at half-time, leading to a quieter second period and here, MOT Leeds News has rated every performance out of 10.

James Trafford impresses in debut

After paying a club-record £40million to sign Trafford from Manchester City last week, expectations will no doubt be high for the new Leeds goalkeeper.

Even though he conceded to Zirkzee just over a quarter of an hour into his debut, it was an overall solid performance from Trafford.

Leeds could have found themselves two or three behind if it wasn't for the saves the England goalkeeper made.

As per stats by Sofascore, Trafford made three saves, with one against Bryan Mbeumo the pick of the bunch to deny Man United a second.

Sebastiaan Bornauw struggles amid exit rumours

Farke allowed one player to play all 90 minutes in Dublin, and that was defender Sebastiaan Bournauw.

Playing on the right-hand side of the back-three, the Belgian defender looked uncomfortable throughout.

The 27-year-old was caught way too high up the pitch for Zirkzee's goals and the stats show that he lost all four aerial duels he contended, one just one of three ground fuels and was dribbled past once.

Hamburg and Koln have been linked with Bornauw this summer and after that display against Man United, Leeds will no doubt be more willing to let him move on.