Tottenham Hotspur salvaged a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Saturday, with Dominic Solanke heading an equaliser in the 92nd minute. Manchester United had taken the lead through Bryan Mbeumo midway through the second half, but Spurs were down to ten men after Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for head-butting Luke Shaw.
The home supporters had arrived hoping to mock their neighbours, Manchester City, who are embroiled in a scandal of their own. Before kickoff, United fans sang “You cheating bastards, you know what you are”, and when Mbeumo put them ahead, they added a dig at Spurs with “You’re going down with the City”. By the final whistle from referee Stuart Attwell, however, the focus had shifted entirely to United’s own failings. Fans streamed out of the ground asking how their side had let a winning position slip.
Head coach Carrick admitted the performance had been mixed. “Massively disappointed with the result for sure,” he said. “It was tough. It was challenging for the first period, definitely.” He acknowledged a clear improvement in the second half, adding: “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 result leaves United with their worst start to a season after six games since 1986. Carrick has not sought to blame his players, but the pressure is building. Solanke’s goal 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 between them.
“That changes a lot of things, you know,” Carrick said. “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 under scrutiny
Lisandro Martínez will be unhappy with his part in the goal. He was caught dithering as Sandro Tonali‘s cross was floated towards Solanke, and he could have headed the ball clear rather than allowing the Spurs striker to get across him. Senne Lammens could also have done better.
Spurs became the second side this season to score at Old Trafford after having a player sent off, following City. United have also now failed to win any of their last three games against teams playing with ten men. In March, they lost 2-1 at Newcastle United after Jacob Ramsey was dismissed, and in November, under Ruben Amorim, they lost 1-0 at home to Everton, who had Idrissa Gueye sent off for slapping his own teammate.
Carrick stressed the need for better game management. “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,” he 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.”
Fixture pressure
Boos rang out around Old Trafford after just 20 minutes, as Spurs, who had started the day bottom of the table, played with real purpose. United were outplayed for long periods of the first half. The energy only shifted when Carlos Baleba, the £70 million summer signing from Brighton & Hove Albion, came on just before the hour mark. His debut was encouraging, but it was overshadowed by United’s failure to close out a game they should have won.
United face Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, then travel to Leeds United at the weekend. After that comes another demanding European fixture, away at Como. Carrick insists that his side’s biggest problem this season has been the fine margins, and he needs those to start going their way quickly.