Leeds United where are they now gallery shows stark demolition job after Manchester United meeting

Of the players who began that game - Farke’s first in charge of the Whites in front of a paying audience - only two still belong to the club. There have been painful exits, inevitable departures and career trajectories that have not yet shown signs of recovery. Among the starters for the game in Oslo at Ullevaal Stadion were players who expected to play a big role under Farke and a number who hoped to stand a chance of involvement with the senior side. There was also a player Leeds desperately hoped to keep for the Championship campaign, before he made a bitterly acrimonious exit. Less than two years on it has been an almost total demolition job for that side.

The game itself in Norway was a largely unremarkable affair. Second-half goals from Noam Emeran and Joe Hugill gave Manchester United a 2-0 win. Before kick-off, club captains Liam Cooper and Raphael Varane paid tribute to the late Gordon McQueen, a former favourite of both clubs, who died a month prior at the age of 70. Fans from both clubs joined to applaud the memory of the ex-St Mirren, Leeds and Manchester United man.

Leeds’ best chance on the day fell to Archie Gray, who at that stage was still just a prospect for the club and had not yet made a senior competitive appearance. Farke rang 10 changes in all at the break bringing on the likes of Gray, Pascal Struijk, Daniel James and Patrick Bamford but even the second half side was littered with names no longer employed by the club. As the second half began it was noticeable how much possession Leeds were enjoying, against an entirely-changed team of Manchester United kids. Alas, it never really translated into chances. There was some tidy football, a Struijk header that sailed inexplicably wide from right in front, some good runs from James with no end product and a Gray drive that flew into the side netting. Manchester United, by comparison, were ruthless when they got a sniff. A heavy Struijk touch led to the first goal from Emeran. Hugill got the second, drifting in alone to direct a pass that initially looked misplaced into the net beyond Dani van den Heuvel.

Farke, who was appointed Leeds boss just eight days before the friendly, said at full-time that the game had come too soon for his squad but it did show him ‘glimpses’ of what he wanted to do with them. And as they flew back to England he had just 24 days in which to prepare them for a campaign that would see them come so close, yet so far from glory. Finishing third behind automatic promotion winners Leicester City and Ipswich Town, Leeds had to settle for the play-offs and met Southampton in an ill-fated final at Wembley, decided by a single Adam Armstrong goal.

Here’s the starting line-up from the first ever sighting of Farke’s Leeds, and where they are now.