Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim names player Matheus Cunha will have a "good connection" with after Leeds Utd draw

Matheus Cunha made his non-competitive debut for Manchester United on Saturday afternoon in a 0-0 draw with Leeds United in Sweden.

The Red Devils took on their Premier League rivals at the Strawberry Arena with Ruben Amorim using the contest to gain valuable minutes for a large number of his squad. Cunha was among the starting XI before 11 changes were made in the second half.

Cunha scored 15 goals and provided six assists for Wolves last season with the Red Devils activating his £62.5m release clause to bring him to Old Trafford and add more goal threat for United. He was voted Man of the Match by United fans.

"We watched that during last season [his ability to score and create chances] in a different team," Amorim told MUTV. "So we expect the same thing."

Ruben Amorim believes Matheus Cunha and Bruno Fernandes will have a good connection

Another player who started the game was captain Bruno Fernandes, who shouldered the goal-scoring burden for the Red Devils in the last campaign. Amorim believes Cunha and Fernandes will have a “good connection” moving forward - even if it was not quite there against Leeds.

He said: "Of course, you can see that the connection between him and Bruno is still not there. But it is going to be a good connection because you can put a player like Kobbie Mainoo there or Mason Mount there. So we have to increase our quality in the final third."

Another debut for United was defender Diego Leon. The 18-year-old arrived for £7m from Cerro Porteno in his native Paraguay earlier this month.

Amorim continued: "We have to understand that the kid came from Paraguay and it's the first week, the second week in Manchester United.

"He did really well, he's learning things, he's powerful. He's going to be a very good player."

What comes next for Man Utd in pre-season

United have four more friendly games before they kick off their 2025-26 campaign against Arsenal on August 17. They head to the United States to take part in the Premier League Summer Series with games against West Ham United, Bournemouth and Everton.

They then face Serie A side Fiorentina on August 9, just over a week before they welcome the Gunners to Old Trafford.

Reflecting further on the draw with Leeds, Amorim said: "I think it was a pre-season game, I think the distances between the sectors was big really sometimes.

"We suffered a little bit when we tried to press high, they kick the ball, win the second ball and they were a danger in that moment. We have a lack of pace, especially in the middle of the park, and you can feel it, [so] that’s hard to bring the ball [forward]. But we created chances.

"We have a lot to do but it was a first test against a Premier League team, with two different teams, so it was a good test."