Steven Gerrard saw something in Leeds vs Man United that made him enjoy Premier League again

Steven Gerrard has hailed referee Darren England for the way he handled Leeds United's fiery clash with Manchester United.

Neither side was afraid to get stuck in as the fierce rivals played out a 1-1 draw at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon.

Gabriel Gudmundsson and Bruno Fernandes were both guilty of fouls that could have earned a red card on a different day.

However, England tried his best to allow the game to flow and did not reach into his back pocket.

Only two yellow cards apiece were dished out to either side, too, with that not truly reflecting the edgy feel to the game throughout.

In the view of former Liverpool player Gerrard, the man in the middle deserves big praise for that.

What did Steven Gerrard love to see in Leeds 1-1 Man United?

Leeds will consider the Man United draw two points dropped, even if they did trail at half-time.

The visitors are in a bad way right now, whereas Leeds are on the up, so this was a chance to earn a first Elland Road win in this fixture in 24 years.

It was an entertaining game if nothing else, though, with Gerrard particularly enjoying the flow of the match.

"I thought the referee was brilliant," he said on Monday's edition of The Overlap Daily. "It's one of the first Premier League games I've seen in a while where the referee allowed [challenges].

"I watch the Premier League and the product lately is very stop-start because of VAR and referees giving free-kicks all the time. Sometimes I feel like switching it off; it frustrates me.

"But the atmosphere was brilliant and both sets of players were right up for it. I enjoyed the first half in particular because Darren England let things go."

Gerrard does have a point, and while Leeds fans were angry that certain challenges went unpunished, it was very much 'six of one'.

Leeds match 31-year run with Man United draw

Leeds may not have been able to pick up a rare home win over Man United, but at least they did not lose.

The Whites earned a famous victory at Old Trafford earlier this year and also avoided defeat in this fixture on home soil last season.

That means Leeds are unbeaten in three Premier League games against Man United for the first time since between September 1994 and December 1995.

All eyes will now be on the return match at Old Trafford in mid-May.