Scott McTominay showed the world his battle scars after somehow escaping red card vs Leeds

Scott McTominay was at the heart of the battle between Manchester United and Leeds United on Sunday afternoon.

Despite not being a natural-born defensive midfielder, the Old Trafford academy prospect was called upon to screen Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire against the pressing onslaught of Marcelo Biesla’s side.

In the end, United did enough to take three points from a rain-sodden Elland Road with Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, Fred and Anthony Elanga all finding the net in a 4-2 victory.

And that’s despite the fact that the Red Devils kissed goodbye to a 2-0 lead in the space of just a few seconds when Rodrigo Moreno and Raphinha defied David de Gea in just two second-half minutes.

However, while United ultimately managed to pull another two-goal lead out of the fire to defeat their Yorkshire rivals, McTominay still had his hands full across 90 minutes of feisty football and hard-hitting tackles.

The 25-year-old is well respected as a combative and energetic presence in the heart of United’s midfield, but some of his defensive work against Leeds wasn’t up to scratch with his usual efficiency and execution.

In fact, according to SofaScore, McTominay was United’s joint-lowest-rated starter in the 4-2 win with many fans and reporters alike believing that he was actually lucky not to receive a red card.

The second-half, in particular, had United supporters crossing their fingers and scrambling for a four-leaf clover as McTominay seemed to tempt fate almost every minute.

With the Scot racking up six fouls throughout the game, there was general bewilderment that McTominay wasn’t hooked off by Ralf Rangnick even when he was finally slapped with a precarious booking.

Marry that to winning just five of his 17 ground duels as