There’s something to be said for the glory of carnage. With such reasoning in mind, Manchester United and Tottenham served the greater good more than their own interests in a wonderful and bonkers tango on Saturday afternoon.
The barest of facts will cover the gist of it – Ruben Amorim’s side led from the 32nd minute until the 84th and trailed from the 91st to the 96th, by which point they were down to 10 men.
That it still finished level is something the marketeers will flog as the magic of the Premier League, when the truth brushes closer to the madness of two teams who cannot be fully trusted.
As neutrals, we shouldn’t take the latter as a criticism. It is beautiful thing to embrace dysfunctionality as a form of entertainment and this engagement had it in spades for those of us without vested interests.
For United and Amorim, both the pain and relief be more pronounced.
They dominated the first half, or rather they were allowed to take control by virtue of Tottenham’s ongoing failure to muster a reliable threat under Thomas Frank. Their lead through Bryan Mbeumo was deserved and, for so long, appeared decisive against a side that managed only three touches in the United area in the first half. Dismal.
Matthijs de Ligt salvaged a late point for Man United with a stoppage time header at Tottenham
De Ligt struck in the dying seconds of the match to earn a 2-2 draw in a dramatic ending
Richarlison thought he has scored the winner only for Tottenham to be stung minutes later
But then came the spins and undulations and a failure to build on a promising position – a theme of Amorim’s management in the 2024-25 season that was distilled into a chaotic second half here.
First, United allowed Tottenham to settle, and from stability came a fight back, led by Frank’s substitutions. The Dane has faced escalating criticisms of late, much of it warranted around a style of play under his management that might be considered perfunctory at best, and the local boos accompanied his changes in this one. But Frank, as much as anyone, turned the match in those moments.
In the nuts and bolts, the introduction of Destiny Udogie and Wilson Odobert as a pairing on the left was a vast upgrade, and the deployment of Mathys Tel carried the more tangible output of an equaliser. From there, Richarlison deflected in off an Odobert strike for what appeared to be the most unlikely, and ugliest, of winners. It appeared to go in off his ear.
Poor Amorim, he could hear the ringing in his own. By then, he was already down a man because Benjamin Sesko, who had been dropped and only entered the pitch from the bench after 58 minutes, was taken off after injuring his knee – an issue that could have long-term implications. With United having used all their substitutes, they seemed doomed in the immediate sense, too.
But then, with the final roll, United won a corner and up went Lammens in desperation. Spurs eyes drifted to his presence and none followed Matthijs de Ligt, especially those of Brennan Johnson, and free header at the back post saved the day.
With it, United extended their unbeaten run to five, but still it felt like a light accounting. They ought to have been out of sight at 1-0, even if they were less than effective with their own play.
For now, United will have to settle for lesser symbols of progress. On one front, that meant a draw against a side which beat them four times last season and a run of form that is promising. By other measures, there was also a tactical vindication of sorts for Amorim, which went against notions of his rigidity.
The maligned 3-4-3 remained the same, but it saw Mbeumo shifted from the right of United’s trident to the left and a role that included mentoring duties for Patrick Dorgu. Quite aside from Mbeumo’s instructions to Dorgu, which made for a strong collaboration, Frank’s former hitman at Brentford also had success in his duel with Pedro Porro.
Man United had led with Bryan Mbuemo having headed in the opener in the first half
Thomas Frank was booed by Tottenham fans for taking off Xavi Simons against Man United
Simons was withdrawn for Mathys Tel as Tottenham toiled for an equaliser at 1-0 down
Tel’s introduction paid near instant dividends with the forward levelling the match on the turn
That was one area where United prevailed in the first half. The other came from resisting a Spurs attack that was energetic but limited in its imagination, which is something of an ongoing allegation.
Frank’s efforts to shift the trend featured three changes to the side that beat Copenhagen in the Champions League, with the upshot that he used Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani in the same attack for the first time. It proved to be a mixed experiment – Kolo Muani’s movements were again out of sync with those behind him and he was hooked at half-time.
Richarlison? He blew Tottenham’s best chance of the first period at 0-0, when Johnson gifted him with a free header and the forward somehow grazed it wide off his shoulder.
Coupled with the minor farce of the opening minute, when Lammens allowed a De Ligt backpass to roll under his boot for a Tottenham corner, it initially seemed as though United’s day would be characterised by their vulnerabilities.
But much like that corner, which was ballooned straight out of play by Porro, Spurs mainly failed to make a dent. Credit to United on that front – they Tottenham’s pressure to come from the wings, as ever, and Amorim’s full-backs were mainly comfortable in handling it.
If Frank had more dynamism in central midfield, they may have exploited the weakest area in Amorim’s plan, but that was moot. They dearly miss the collective strengths of Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Dominic Solanke.
With the threats against them limited, United were allowed to capitalise. Mbeumo’s goal traced to errors in Tottenham’s defence and most conspicuously from Pape Matar Sarr, who had an opportunity to clear but instead played Micky van de Ven into a world of trouble via a short pass back towards his own goal. The ball was swallowed by a swarm of United shirts and Amad Diallo was eventually freed to cross for Mbeumo, who was given space by Johnson to head past Guglielmo Vicario.
By the close of the half, it was the game’s only shot on goal. Tottenham’s improvement after the break was understated but clear.
The Red Devils were reduced to 10-men when substitute Benjamin Sesko suffered an injury
Richarlison’s flicked header from a Wilson Odobert shot appeared to have earned a late victory
De Ligt would have the final word by heading in from a corner to ensure a dramatic draw
The early warning came from a pair of shots within 60 seconds of each other from Cristian Romero and Joao Palhinha, necessitating reaction saves from Lammens. That suggested a change in the game’s flow, helped by Frank’s assortment of substitutions.
Both Udogie and Tel were part of the cavalry charge and it was the former’s cross that Tel gathered before spinning De Ligt and firing past Lammens. At that stage, it seemed like the best Tottenham might hope for.
But then Richarlison had his moment, which was the first twist. The next, via De Ligt’s header at the far post, was madder still.