A rollercoaster of a match at Old Trafford saw Tottenham Hotspur add to their lowly points total in dramatic fashion against Manchester United. After Spurs were unable to convert early dominance into goals, a Bryan Mbeumo goal and a brain explosion from Rodrigo Bentancur resulting in the Uruguayan’s ejection from the match appeared to condemn Spurs to yet another loss, but a late goal from Dominic Solanke rescued a point for the Lilywhites.
Roberto De Zerbi made five changes following Spurs’ loss
to Aston Villa and an extended international break, with Mohammed Kudus, Conor Gallagher, Destiny Udogie, and Archie Gray coming into the starting lineup, as Marcos Senesi replaced captain Micky van de Ven who had not recovered enough from his knock suffered on international duty to start the fixture.
Tottenham Hotspur started very brightly and really should have opened the scoring in the first few minutes. United goalkeeper Senne Lammens played a risky ball out towards Kobbie Mainoo, under pressure from Lucas Bergvall, with it falling to Dominic Solanke. The Englishman really should have scored, but instead took a poor touch before hitting his shot too close to Lammens, who made an excellent save. Spurs, though, continued to dominate, and could have scored again as Mohammed Kudus latched onto a cutback from Savio, only to direct his shot wide of the post when he perhaps should have let the ball run for Archie Gray making a late run behind him.
Spurs’ dominance was telling, and the Old Trafford crowd began to boo their own team as the Red Devils struggled to complete even simple passes. The Lilywhites should have made that dominance count, having another huge chance to score before half-time, as Conor Gallagher spurned another chance. He was fed by Solanke and had acres of space near the top of the box, but instead barely got a shot off as he struggled to control the ball.
The second half started much like the first, as Spurs continued to be wasteful in the final third. Savio sprinted clear down the left before looking to square for a teammate, instead unable to find one as Luke Shaw cleared the ball off the line, before Spurs’ Brazilian winger came to the fore once more, putting the ball on a platter for Solanke. The ball was bouncing, but Solanke made an absolute meal of the chance as he was unable to even get his attempt on target from point blank range as he skied his shot.
Spurs began to tire, as United started to find something of a foothold in the match. The home side had a brief moment of joy as they had the ball in the net via Youri Tielemans, but after a few seconds the referee blew for a goal kick as the ball had clearly run out of play, before a triple substitution for United looked to capitalize on Spurs’ dwindling energy levels.
Capitalize they did, as Bryan Mbeumo created something out of nothing. Matheus Cunha played a simple pass to the Cameroonian, who was given too much space by Jan Paul van Hecke, and Mbeumo had time to turn and pick his spot. It was a tight angle, but his shot was well-placed into the side netting and Spurs once more threw away some positive play to trail in a match.
Things soon went from bad to worse for Spurs as Rodrigo Bentancur was given his marching orders. The Uruguayan was given a full-blooded shove by Shaw following a robust challenge, and Bentancur leapt to his feet and threw his head into Shaw’s face. It was a moment of madness from Bentancur, with the red card well-deserved, and it seemed like Spurs would capitulate from there.
Instead, though, Manchester United opted to sit deep and protect their lead against ten men, with Spurs taking the initiative to push for an equalizer. Things got chippy as yellow cards were handed out like candy, but Spurs kept their cool as Tonali’s cross was met by Solanke, wrestling with Lisandro Martinez, and glanced on via Solanke’s head into the net to secure a late 1-1 draw.
Reactions
- Well, that was a hurried rewrite. Yay, I guess?
- Could we have just one normal match supporting this club? Just one? I guess not.
- Opting to start your two midfielders who played big minutes over the international break is a CHOICE, but it initially seemed to pay off, with Bergvall and Tonali VERY impressive in the press. That press dropped off though as the match went on, which was hardly surprising, and De Zerbi was too slow to make changes given the workload some of his international representatives have been under.
- I wrote on this in preseason, but Conor Gallagher is such an enigma for Spurs. He is terrible in the final third as a #10, but his running is so key to Spurs enacting a quality press. Can we combine him and James Maddison into one player perhaps? Get the scientists on it!
- Spurs are absolutely awful at converting chances, and a big reason for that is Dom Solanke. Hoo boy. I know this will seem churlish after he scored a late goal to steal a point, but he is just not at the level Spurs need. He’s never been a good finisher throughout his career, but now he’s actively bad. He looks nervous and uncertain in front of goal, and it’s starting to feel almost like a Roberto Soldado situation. It seems like the only goals he’ll score from here on out are those that he doesn’t have to think about at all. I’m beginning to miss Richarlison.
- That was absolutely brainless by Bentancur (you know, because his brain had clearly just exploded). Shaw’s shove was rough (and received a deserved yellow) but as soon as you drop your head into another player’s, the only result is only ever going to be a straight red. Now that he’ll be out for three matches, let’s see if Roberto De Zerbi can find more reasons not to start Mateus Fernandes in the middle.
- Next up: Spurs host Coventry, one of two sides below them on the table (for now). Will that match provide the elusive win?
- COYS.
