Tottenham were denied a first Premier League win at home since the opening weekend this afternoon, as Man United defender Matthijs de Ligt broke Spurs hearts with a dramatic added-time equaliser, despite Thomas Frank’s side briefly snatching a late 2-1 lead.
Tottenham 2-2 Man United as poor Spurs home form continues
Bryan Mbeumo had put United ahead in the 32nd minute, with the October Premier League Player of the Month continuing his excellent form by nodding past a helpless Guglielmo Vicario at the far post.
The visitors dominated for large periods as Spurs looked disjointed and lacked overall creativity at home once again. Tottenham did have one chance before the interval, but striker Richarlison failed to capitalise — missing a golden opportunity when presented with a free header from 12 yards out.
He somehow completely missed the ball, leaving every Spurs fan in the stadium stunned, and those same supporters booed the home side off at half-time after a very disappointing first 45.
United looked on their way to three points, managing the game well after the restart, even if the brilliant Senne Lammens was forced into a couple of excellent saves to maintain their advantage.
However, the equaliser eventually did come, with substitute Mathys Tel’s shot in the 83rd minute deflecting off de Ligt and finding the back of the United net.
Tottenham 2-2 Man United – best players
Match Rating
Wilson Odobert
7.4
Matthijs de Ligt
7.3
Amad Diallo
7.3
Mathys Tel
7.1
Patrick Dorgu
7.1
via WhoScored
Frank’s player introductions changed the game, with fellow sub Destiny Udogie setting up the Frenchman for his brilliantly taken equaliser inside the box. Yet another sub, Wilson Odobert, then chipped into the late drama.
Richarlison directed Odobert’s ball outside the box past Lammens and into the bottom corner on 91 minutes, sparking wild celebrations as the Brazilian removed his shirt in jubilation. Tottenham appeared to have completed a sensational comeback, yet there was one final twist.
A United corner to the back post was headed home by de Ligt, who was completely unmarked, in the 96th minute — silencing Spurs’ celebrations and rescuing a dramatic point for Ruben Amorim’s side.
The draw maintains United’s four-match unbeaten streak while Tottenham’s home woes continue. Spurs have now won just four of their last 20 home league games, with their excellent away record masking real struggles at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Peter Crouch takes aim at “lackadaisical” Djed Spence in Man United draw
For United’s first goal, so much went wrong.
Pape Sarr made the bizarre decision to play a very difficult pass to Micky van de Ven just outside Spurs’ penalty area, rather than just clearing the ball, and the Dutchman was then rushed into a botched clearance before United capitalised and opened the scoring.
Right-back Djed Spence also failed to close down the cross for Mbeumo’s header quick enough, with ex-Tottenham striker Peter Crouch telling TNT Sports at half-time that his defending simply wasn’t good enough.
Crouch said that Spence looked “too calm” when going to press Diallo, insisting that the defender was “lackadaisical” at that moment which cost Spurs the first goal of the game.
Djed Spence for EnglandÂ
Overall, the north Londoners were arguably the weaker side and a victory for them would’ve been quite harsh on United, even if their brief comeback sparked real hope of a perfect last Premier League result before the November international break.
Their next two matches after the break are actually away from home, but they’re against very tough opposition in Premier League leaders Arsenal and European champions PSG.
