Leeds United F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry

The rivalry between Leeds United and Manchester United is sometimes nicknamed the Roses rivalry or the Pennines derby. The rivalry originates from the strong enmity between the historic counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire, which is popularly believed to have its origins in the Wars of the Roses of the 15th century. The colours of each football team’s home shirts fittingly correspond to the respective rose representing their historic county – Leeds with a white kit, resembling the Yorkshire rose, and Man Utd with a red shirt, like the Lancashir rose. Manchester United have won an English record 66 trophies to Leeds United’s nine.

About Leeds United F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry in brief

The rivalry between Leeds United and Manchester United is sometimes nicknamed the Roses rivalry or the Pennines derby. The rivalry originates from the strong enmity between the historic counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire, which is popularly believed to have its origins in the Wars of the Roses of the 15th century. In the past, rivalry between the two clubs has gone beyond the action on the field at Old Trafford and Elland Road. Manchester United have won an English record 66 trophies to Leeds United’s nine. The teams met again in the 2020-21 Premier League season, as Leeds United were promoted after winning the Championship in 2020 where Manchester United beat Leeds 6–2. The colours of each football team’s home shirts fittingly correspond to the respective rose representing their historic county – Leeds with a white kit, resembling the Yorkshire rose, and Man Utd with a red shirt, like the Lancashir rose. There is a similar rivalry in the sport of cricket, in which matches are contested on a county basis. Although the clubs cover the larger county region, Yorkshire are based in Leeds and play at the Headingley Stadium, while Lancashires play at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester, close to the football stadium of the same name. Manchester is now in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, while Leeds and Industrial Revolution in Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries saw the two cities go through an unprecedented phase of economic growth. This served to establish the rivalry. During the mid-19th century, Leeds had constructed the impressive Grade I listed I listed Leeds Town Hall, though Manchester had acquired their own striking architectural works of their own, such as the Grade II listed Manchester Town Hall.

This led to the first Manchester United side to establish their own side, even though Leeds were the first to build their own Grade II buildings. The two cities were even first to establish a rivalry, with Manchester United being the first club to build a Grade II Grade II Town Hall in the 19th century and Leeds the Grade 1 Grade II I listed Grade I Grade I Town Hall in the 1920s. The clubs have met only twice since then, and while polling shows Leeds fans still consider Manchester United to be their main rivals, Manchester United fans consider Liverpool to be the club’s main rivals. In terms of trophies, the rivalry has been heavily in favour of Manchester United, who have won a record 66 trophies to Leeds’ nine. The rivalry and the hooliganism have been effectively curtailed since 2004, when Leeds were relegated from the Premier League. These encounters have been particularly scarce since 1982, the year that Leeds was relegated to the Second Division. The problem was still rife among fans of English league clubs at this stage, and by the time Leeds returned to the top flight in 1990 the problem was less severe and has remained a lesser problem since. Leeds only adopted their white kit in the 1960s, inspired by Real Madrid. However, Man United’s colours have not always been red.

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