Tottenham 2 Manchester United 2
There were times during the first half when it felt as if Manchester United were toying with Tottenham, their 2-0 lead at half-time a poor reflection of a game that felt mainly about how the home team would react to what happened at Newcastle on Sunday.
Spurs looked inhibited, the 6-1 hammering in their minds – along, perhaps, with all of the other craziness that has made them the crisis club of the moment. And yet as they stared into the abyss, they found some strength. From somewhere.
It would be wrong to underplay the extent of United’s second-half collapse. Not for the first time under Erik ten Hag, they completely lost their way. But Spurs and their caretaker manager, Ryan Mason, deserved credit.
They carried the fight to United in the second half, stepping high and playing the game on their terms, which has not been said for a while. Pedro Porro, a recent target for some fan frustration, made it 2-1, United’s advantage courtesy of Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford suddenly not looking so secure.
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Spurs would get an equaliser, an incredible tonic, and they deserved it. Harry Kane, who was excellent in the second half, made it for Son Heung-min and at full time there were no boos from the crowd. For Daniel Levy, the under-fire chairman, the slightly muted response was golden.
Mason, back for another caretaker spell – the interim behind the interim after Cristian Stellini’s demise – had been desperate for a result. And yet it was hard to escape the feeling that his evening would be defined by whether he could oversee a performance that restored a bit of pride and how the home crowd reacted to it all.
The pre-match protest against Levy – not for the first time – had seen about 50 blokes gather on the High Road with a few banners, singing some songs.
It was not exactly the anti-Glazer movement although, as their United counterparts can tell them, it is one thing to protest, quite another to shift unpopular owners. Are they listening to the fans? No.
The atmosphere inside the stadium was flat at the outset, United given time and space on the ball, Spurs not really pressing. It was as if 60,000 or so were watching them try to shake their heads clear.
The visiting enclosure would explode in celebration early on and it was a lovely moment for Sancho, restored to the starting XI after his positive cameo in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final win over Brighton, which was embossed by his successful conversion in the penalty shoot-out.
Rashford rode a challenge from Oliver Skipp to work the ball left and Sancho’s finish was bent unerringly into the far corner after he stepped inside Porro and Cristian Romero.
It was an angsty first half, United’s superiority pronounced, the locals restless. The South Stand bellowed a few anti-Levy choruses while the man himself sat impassively. The half-time whistle brought the inevitable boos from the crowd, their team having just conceded a second. The only wonder was that it took United took so long.
It was a wretched concession, Ivan Perisic having been through at the other end and one-on-one with David de Gea up the inside left, only to be denied. United broke, Bruno Fernandes sending a raking diagonal upfield to Rashford, who had isolated himself against Eric Dier.
The alarm bells rang loudly for Spurs, Dier backing off Rashford, showing him up the outside. Rashford went there and blasted past Fraser Forster. It was so simple. When the ball hit the net, Perisic was still deep in United territory.
Richarlison, restored to the Spurs starting XI, brought a bit of snarl and a few dangerous runs, while Perisic worked De Gea with a header. But United, even if they appeared to be playing within themselves before the interval, created chances. Sancho had a shot cleared off the line by Perisic while Forster made saves, the best to deny Rashford from a Fernandes cross.
A “Levy Out” banner appeared in the South Stand at the start of the second half and by then the home crowd had been forced to digest the taunts of their counterparts about the future of Kane. The striker, out of contract at the end of next season and linked with a move to United, has been an isolated bright spot for Spurs. “Harry Kane, we’ll see you in June,” the United fans sang.
United took their foot off the pedal and, almost outlandishly, Spurs sensed a way back. Clément Lenglet hit the top of the crossbar with a header and Porro picked out the top corner after a Perisic cross sparked chaos in the area. When the ball came back to Porro, his outside-of-the-boot technique from 15 yards was outstanding.
Fernandes ought to have restored United’s cushion only to hit the crossbar after tricking through the middle of the area, nutmegging Lenglet, but Spurs were in the game and sensing a reprieve, their supporters with them.
Son had to score after a brilliant Kane cross and then Dier absolutely had to score with a free header in front of goal. He was in yards of space. Mason went through agonies when both of them missed. – Guardian
