Leeds United caretaker Michael Skubala on 20-minute Manchester United preparation prior to draw

The Whites went to Old Trafford with a plan to be pragmatic but still attacking, based on a 20-minute shape session with Skubala and fellow caretakers Chris Armas and Paco Gallardo.

Leeds are not yet in a position to appoint a replacement for Jesse Marsch, who was sacked on Monday, and just prior to kick-off in Manchester noises from Spain suggested Rayo Vallecano boss Andoni Iraola has said no to the job.

It was Skubala running the show on the touchline however, and he was celebrating inside 65 seconds as Willy Gnonto put Leeds in front. A Raphael Varane own goal early in the second half put the Whites in dreamland and though Skubala rued the fact that they didn't go on to win, he was proud of the defensive effort to secure a point after Manchester United hit back through Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.

"Really proud of the players," he said.

"I thought they did really well in the context, a tough place to come, they haven't lost in 13. I'm a little bit disappointed, I thought we did enough to win. It was really good to go 2-0 up so I'm disappointed not to win the game but really proud to get a point."

Skubala's message to the squad, with whom he worked following Jesse Marsch's sacking on Monday, was to go after their hosts but not with reckless abandon.

"Not to be passive, to be aggressive, to be free and to go and attack them," he said.

"The most rewarding bit is the last moments, seeing out the game. [We did] 20 minutes of shape, the analysis and video – they were very concentrated. [We said] let's have a good structure, be hard to beat, let's try and score goals and be positive. At the end we had to dig deep and had to show personality to see out the game."

Life was made harder by first half injuries to Luis Sinisterra and Pascal Struijk, with Marc Roca and Liam Cooper already missing from the line-up with the game coming too soon, but Leeds were not to be denied a result that was celebrated by the travelling support.

"We took a few knocks early on, that made it difficult for the second half," said Skubala.

"We need to go back and assess, it's a shame to lose some good players but we'll need to dig deep and stick together."