Leeds United fans descend on Perth for Man United friendly

It's one of two pre-season fixtures for United down under

Author: Ben BasonPublished 17th Jul 2019

Thousands of Leeds fans have descended on Perth in Australia as the Whites get ready to play Man United in a friendly there later.

It's the first of two fixtures down under in the lead up to the the new season next month - they face Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday.

United landed in Australia earlier in the week but without boss Marcelo Bielsa who stayed in the UK to make sure his new signings and internationals were up to speed ahead of the new Championship campaign.

He's understood to now be with the team ready for the match which kicks off at 12 noon UK time today.

Leeds skipper Liam Cooper says it's a good chance for United to test themselves:

“It’s great to come and see Perth, with the great facilities and the beautiful city it is.

“This is a really good chance for the lads and the team to test ourselves against one of the best teams in the world.

“We want to go into the new season with a winning mentality and that has to start now, we want to win every game.

“Being a boy growing up in England, you always knew about the hatred between Leeds United and Manchester United, the fans don’t get along and the games are always good games, we’ve been brought up around that and that is the way it is."

Thousands of Leeds fans watched the team training yesterday, made up of Australians who support the Whites and those who've travelled over there from the UK for the fixture.

Stefan's from Adelaide and has been a Leeds United fan his whole life:

"I've never actually seen the team in the flesh. It'll be amazing to see the team play in our home country.

"The atmosphere's amazing - it's something special to walk around Perth and walk into every pub and they've got Leeds flags up. It's a beautiful thing."