Dominic Solanke headed Tottenham Hotspur to a 92nd-minute equaliser, earning a 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday. Spurs had been reduced to 10 men after Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for head-butting Luke Shaw, and the late goal left United with their worst start to a season after six games since 1986.
The United supporters who arrived hoping to enjoy themselves at Manchester City’s expense left disappointed. Their chants of “You cheating bastards, you know what you are” rang out before kickoff, and when Bryan Mbeumo gave the home side the lead midway through the second half, fans taunted Spurs with “You’re going down with the City”. Their mood soured quickly, though. As referee Stuart Attwell blew the final whistle, the scandal engulfing their neighbours had faded from view, and attention had shifted to how Tottenham had found a way back.
“Massively disappointed with the result for sure,” said United’s head coach, Michael Carrick, afterwards. “A mixed performance, to be totally honest. I think it was tough. It was challenging for the first period, definitely.
“There was a big improvement through the second half as it progressed and we put ourselves in such a good position towards the end of the game. To then not see it through — we should find a way of seeing that through.”
The spotlight will inevitably fall on Carrick. He is not one to blame his players publicly, and he chose not to do so again in his post-match news conference, but the expectations around the club are high. Solanke’s header was the third time already this season that United have conceded in stoppage time, and two of those late goals, against Everton and Spurs, have cost them four points.
“It’s a couple of times now when — different ways, obviously — that’s two late, late goals against us to throw away two wins really,” Carrick said. “That changes a lot of things, you know. It changes a lot of feelings for ourselves and it changes points and what [the table] looks like. We need to do better with seeing out games, that’s for sure, once we get ourselves in a good position.”
Defensive lapses expose a fragile mentality
The late collapses point to a deeper problem: an apparent inability to handle pressure when it matters most. Lisandro Martínez will not want to watch the goal again. He allowed Sandro Tonali’s cross to reach Solanke, and it was unclear what he was doing as the ball came in. Rather than dancing around the Spurs striker, he might have headed the ball clear. Senne Lammens could also have done better.
Solanke’s goal means Spurs have now joined City in scoring at Old Trafford this season after having a player sent off. United have failed to win any of their past three games against teams with 10 men. In March, they lost 2-1 at Newcastle United after Jacob Ramsey was dismissed. In November, under Ruben Amorim, Everton won 1-0 at Old Trafford despite having Idrissa Gueye sent off for slapping his own teammate.
“It’s definitely something where — 10 men or not 10 men — if we’re ahead in the game, we’ve got to see games out,” Carrick said. “Whether that’s taking the ball, whether that’s controlling the game a little bit more, looking after the ball better in their half and around their box and pinning them in a little bit, or whether that’s defending moments better. Certainly, we need to improve that.”
The last time United had fewer than six points after six games, Ron Atkinson was sacked as manager. Carrick is not there yet, but the pressure is mounting.
Baleba’s cameo offers hope
Spurs, who started the day bottom of the table, were the brighter side early on, and boos rang out at Old Trafford after just 20 minutes. United were outplayed for large parts of the first half. The energy only began to change when the £70 million summer signing from Brighton & Hove Albion, Carlos Baleba, came on for his first appearance just before the hour mark. His cameo provided a glimmer of hope, although it was overshadowed by United’s failure to hold on to a result they should have won.
United now face Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, followed by a trip to Leeds United next weekend. After that comes another tough European assignment at Como. Carrick insists his biggest issue is that United keep falling on the wrong side of fine margins. If they are to start moving in the right direction, that needs to change quickly.