Silvestre keeps United in the hunt

Manchester United 2 Leeds United 1

A classic diving header by Mikaël Silvestre, a French full-back popping up to perform a passable impersonation of Denis Law, redeemed another below-par performance by Manchester United last night and trimmed Arsenal's lead in the Premiership to five points.

Leeds, having cancelled out an unwitting own goal by Lucas Radebe with a Mark Viduka header midway through the second, were 11 minutes away from repeating last season's 1-1 draw in the fixture when Seth Johnson brought down David Beckham. The England captain's quickly taken free-kick caught the visitors static as Silvestre darted in to score his first goal of the season.

Arsenal supporters, following the Roses battle from afar, must have been as deflated as the Leeds contingent at Old Trafford. But they should not, on this evidence, be unduly concerned. If Sir Alex Ferguson's remarks about Arsène Wenger's "bragging" and the "arrogance" of the Double winners were intended to fire up his own players after Sunday's Worthington Cup final failure, they did not achieve their aim.

United looked jaded and disjointed at times, failing to build on their early lead and letting a patchwork Leeds outfit back into contention. Even after Silvestre's opportunism, Terry Venables' team finished the stronger and had a plausible claim for a penalty when John O'Shea brought down Viduka near the end.

That said, United marginally deserved their success, although it came at a price. Roy Keane, operating alongside Rio Ferdinand at centre-back, will be out for three to four weeks after hurting a hamstring, while Ruud van Nistelrooy and Juan Sebastian Veron also took knocks. United do not play again in the League until a week on Saturday, and are already through to the last eight of the Champions' League, but Keane could conceivably miss the first leg of the quarter-finals.

Not for the first time, the leadership mantle was donned by Beckham. As voracious a worker as he was lethargic against Liverpool, he made the difference with his speed of thought and precise delivery, much as he did when creating both United's goals in the home leg against Juventus after the "flying boot" fiasco. Beckham, according to Ferguson, was "fantastic", which was over-egging things somewhat in the context of an attritional match.

"You've got to remember we were coming off the back of a disappointing result in Cardiff, with lots of tension, tiredness and injuries," Ferguson said. "I was pleased with our response to their goal. The speed of our game got better and we hobbled through." Asked about the title race, he added: "We're still in there. We need Arsenal to drop points but we also need to do our own job. It's going to be interesting."

Venables, whose side have now taken a paltry 22 points from 23 matches since beating United last September, felt Leeds had been worth a draw. Instead he had to settle for his already-depleted ranks emerging without further knocks or strains before Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final at Sheffield United, a game on which their hopes of salvaging something from a wretched season rest.

"I felt we were well on course for a point," the Leeds manager said. "We showed a lot of commitment, made it difficult for them and should have had a penalty when Viduka was fouled. It looked like the referee was going to give it and then changed his mind. But we fell asleep for the winner, and you can't afford to do that here."

United went ahead in the 20th minute. O'Shea, who had earlier executed a marvellous drag-back to leave Seth Johnson on his backside, played Beckham in behind Leeds' defence with Ian Harte AWOL. Nicky Butt met the cross with a header which Paul Robinson parried, only for the ball to ricochet in off Radebe under pressure from Van Nistelrooy.

Leeds, for whom Alan Smith had coaxed a flying save from Barthez in the first half, grew in confidence as it became clear United were not at their sharpest. They drew level in the 64th minute when Viduka – anonymous during the first half, awesome in the second – headed his ninth goal of the season and fourth in five meetings with United.

Leeds looked set for one of the better results in the 22 years since Brian Flynn scored their last winner at United. Silvestre's role-reversal made it 16 games without a victory at the home of their bitterest rivals.

Manchester United (4-4-1-1): Barthez 6; O'Shea 7, Ferdinand 6, Keane 6, Silvestre 7; Beckham 7, Butt 5, Veron 6 (P Neville 5, 56), Fortune 4 (Giggs 5, 65); Scholes 5; Van Nistelrooy 6 (G Neville, 89). Substitutes not used: Fletcher, Carroll (gk).

Leeds United (4-4-2): Robinson 7; Mills 4, Radebe 6, Lucic 5, Harte 4; Smith 7, Okon 6, Seth Johnson 6, Bravo 6 (McPhail, 84); Viduka 5, Barmby 5 (Milner, 84). Substitutes not used: Cansdell-Sherriff, Kilgallon, Martyn (gk).

Referee: G Poll (Tring) 7.