Tottenham Hotspur had a chance to beat Manchester United for the fifth consecutive time after four wins last season, including the Europa League final. For a few glorious minutes there near the end of
the match, it looked like they’d do it. Tottenham went down midway through the second half thanks to a defensive miscue and an open shot by Bryan Mbeumo. But Spurs came roaring back in the second half, forcing United keeper Semme Lammens into a number of excellent stops. Mathys Tel leveled the score with a lovely turn and finish in the box in the 84th minute, and Spurs thought they’d nicked it in extra time after Richarlison broke his duck, flicking a Wilson Odobert ball into the back of the net in the 91st minute to put Spurs ahead.
Then Mathias de Ligt out-jumped Spurs’ defenders at the back post, nodded in an equalizer off of a set piece that Guglielmo Vicario couldn’t stop, and United escaped with a 2-2 draw. A disheartening to what would’ve been a solid win despite another pretty meh overall match.
For much of Tottenham Hotspur’s match against Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium it looked like it might be a repeat, maybe not as severe, as the Chelsea loss. Neither United nor Tottenham were generating much on the offensive side of the ball, with both teams looking content to let the other team make a mistake. Spurs put up a shocking 0.07 xG in the first half, with United only managing 0.23 xG. Champagne football this was not.
But the second half substitutions of Wilson Odobert and Destiny Udogie changed the match. Odobert was outstanding, combining well with Udogie on the left side and essentially doing everything but score Tottenham’s second. A win would’ve made Spurs the first club in the Premier League era to beat United five straight times. A draw “merely” extends their unbeaten streak against United to eight matches, going back to 2023, and puts Spurs up to third, at least temporarily.
Here are my match reactions to what turned out to be an entertaining finish.
Match Reactions
- Final xG: TOT 0.96 – 0.63 UTD
- I had two drafts written and then deleted for this recap, so that’s why it’s taking a little longer to get this out. Sorry not sorry, blame Spurs and United for being both crap and also exciting when it matters.
- It doesn’t seem to matter how much these two teams chop and change their lineups, it always feels like a match where both teams sit back against each other and wait for the other one to make a mistake that they can capitalize on. A 2-2 draw where neither team had an xG over 1.0 feels… well, feels pretty accurate.
- That mistake came in the 32nd minute with a failed defensive clearance that lead to a Mbeumo header. I was going to comment on how despite U-Ball was in full effect for the first half and it was really awful to watch
- Spurs did a pretty decent job getting the ball into the attacking third; it’s everything after that point that was pretty close until late. This Tottenham line for whatever reason just runs out of ideas as soon as the ball gets anywhere near the box, or the execution is poor. How many Pedro Porro or Brennan Johnson crosses were either overhit or mis-hit in that first half? Better in the second, but this is becoming an recurrent problem.
- A Thomas Frank halftime sub is rare and notable, and I was pleased to see Wilson Odobert come on. I was less pleased to see him come on for Randal Kolo Muani and not for Richarlison, who was probably the worst player on the front line for much of the match. Odobert has been blossoming this season, like he’s finally figuring out that he’s a good player. Gareth Bale arc incoming?
- More on Richy: He looked like a player who knows he’s been playing like butt for a while now. Can’t fault his work rate and the system isn’t helping him, but my god he’s just not doing well, and that makes his second half flicked-on goal off his shoulder a little sweeter. I’m glad he scored as I’m sure that’s a major monkey off his back; I just wish Spurs had been able to make him the hero in a Spurs win.
- Things definitely opened up for Spurs in the second half, with United’s keeper making two good saves to prevent goals and Johnson having a goal called back for offside. The main issue with Johnson’s not-goal was that Richarlison was slow with the pass and didn’t catch Johnson’s late run until he was already in an offside position. If he is quicker with the ball (or plays Odobert on the other side) it’s a goal.
- Extremely happy for my nephew Mathys Tel who had a lovely turn and shot in the box to level the score. Great goal and should be a confidence booster for him.
- We need Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall back quickly because I think I might like the Palhinha-Sarr midfield pairing even less than the Palhinha-Bentancur pairing.
- Look, Spurs’ defense was on the whole pretty okay. They only gave up five shots and two on target. It’s just United scored on both of those on-target shots, and that’s stupid. It’s also football, and if Spurs were more clinical and generated more offense it’s a win, easy. I continue to be concerned that Thomas Frank, hamstrung as he is by injuries, doesn’t have many good ideas to get Spurs firing offensively.
- Despite the disappointing end, the draw puts Spurs, at least temporarily, into third. That’s the good news. The bad news is that their next two matches are the away North London Derby and away to PSG in the Champions League. Whoof.
