Mancashter United (Away) 10.10.2026

The Tottenham record at Old Trafford hasn’t been great over the years, but over the last it has improved over the last ten years or so, but with both teams not living up to pre-season expectations, this became a media fuelled crunch match.  Unusually big spending Spurs faced big reputation United and it was Tottenham who started off with energy and intent.  In the third minute, Lammens tried a pass out from the back, but Lucas Bergvall was immediately onto Mainoo, winning the ball forward for Dominic Solanke, captain for the day, inside the box, but he took too long to get the ball where he wanted and the United keeper redeemed himself with a save to deny Dom, who really should have scored.

Tottenham’s aggressive closing earned Gallagher a yellow card in the fourth minute, pulling Maguire down on halfway.  The winning of possession allowed Spurs to move the ball through the centre of the pitch, but they also spread the play wide to take advantage of Mo Kudus having the beating of Shaw on most occasions.  With 17 minutes gone, Tottenham moved the ball well from back to front and created an opportunity for Lucas to shoot but it rose over the bar.  United had been slow to get going but a move down their left allowed Diallo to try and put a low ball not the centre of the box, but Destiny Udogie did well to get back and cut it out.  A fine passing movement involving Marcos Senesi, Savio and Udogie gave Savio the run on Yoro and he pulled the ball back into the middle of the penalty area, where Kudus was unmarked, but he shot back the way that the ball had come although wide of the goal.

When Lammens had the ball at his feet to say that he looked nervy would have been an understatement.  Trying to find a red shirt, he ballooned the ball out of play in the 23rd minute and the boos rang out from United fans.  It seemed there was trouble in the Theatre of Dreams.  Just before the half hour, there was a series of challenges from both sides went in and Attwell let them go whereas he had been giving free-kicks for the slightest push by Spurs players.

Savio got a deep cross in that Shaw needlessly headed behind for a corner, but when it came in, it was cleared and Tonali had a shot from 20 yards that was blocked.  As is our luck, the ball bounced off a defender straight up the pitch and Mbeumo was off on a run from halfway inside his own half.  He had Diallo to his left and found him with a pass that pushed him a little wide and Udogie did well to close him down, forcing a weak, low shot that Kinsky got down behind to save.  A couple of minutes before half-time, Solanke played an astute ball to get Gallagher in behind the defence, but he never really had the ball under control, with it bouncing off Lammens, then Gallagher, then Shaw and going everywhere except in the net.  When Attwell blew for half-time, boos were again raining down from the stands from the home support.

The second half was sure to produce a better performance from United, as it couldn’t be much worse.  Early on, van Hecke cut out a dangerous low ball across to the near post but Savio was getting joy again up the left and his low ball back from the dead ball line took Lammens out at the near post, although Shaw managed to skew the ball away before it got to Kudus.  The Brazilian winger was involved again with a fine low ball across the face of goal and Solanke came on to it, being pulled by Martinez which put him off enough that he couldn’t keep his stretching shot down.

In the 55th minute, Archie Gray tried to shield the ball off and Cunha won it off him, putting it into the centre of the box from where Tielemens hit the net.  However, it didn’t count as the linesman flagged that the ball had gone out of play before Cunha dragged it back onto the pitch.  Around the hour mark, Carrick had seen enough and brought on Zirkzee, Baleba (for his debut) and Dalot and the substitutions seemed to make a difference with a bit more energy and Zirkzee showing some good skill in tight situations.

Fernandes had a chance for United when he turned on a shot inside the right side of the area but it was just too high and Tottenham responded with Senesi’s through pass to Gallagher touched no for Udogie, who put his shot wide and he was offside anyway.  De Zerbi brought off Bergvall and Kudus with Marmoush and Bentancur coming off the bench.  The ball pinged about the United box a couple of minutes later and it ran into Savio’s path to the right of the goal, but his shot was deflected over by Mainoo’s block.

Watching Spurs over the last 18 months has been just waiting for the other team to score, no matter how well or not we had been playing.  And, so, the same was the case here.  All those chances that had not been turned into goals cost us when Cunha fed the ball into box from the left to Mbeumo, who took a touch and turned to drag a shot across Kinsky to find the net.  There are all the stats that say we hadn’t come back to win a game we had been behind in for 48 matches, but if you don’t take your chances, that will often happen – more so in our case.

United tried to make the extra man count and with Senesi tiring Mbeumo won a foot race with the Spurs defender, but Kinsky got down at his near post to turn the ball behind.  To identify the poor refereeing, Baleba bundled van de Ven over from behind with no hope of getting the ball but nothing was given against the United midfielder.  Inside the United half, it was perhaps equal or worse than Gallagher’s caution.  But I suppose you can’t expect referees to be perfect … or even consistent.  

van Hecke was in the right place to block a shot from Cunha as United looked to double their lead.  Eight added minutes were announced and the anxiety in the United sections was palpable as gasps rang out around Old Trafford.  It must have got to the players too as they have let games slip so often this season and they dropped deeper towards their own goal.  They were getting reckless in their tackling and as Spurs continued to come forward, they must have been confused as to which team had eleven players and which had ten.  Having already lost at home to ten man Man City, it must have been playing on their minds that having numerical superiority is not always an advantage psychologically.

Mateus Fernandes, on as a sub, dinked a cross into the box that a red shirt headed away, but Fernandes was eager to get to the ball first, knocking it wide left to Tonali, who returned the pass.  His cross was headed out and the Italian picked up the clearance near the right corner of United’s box, this time aiming his cross just outside the middle of the six yard box.  Martinez and Solanke were there, with the United defender more intent on looking at and wrestling the Spurs captain rather than paying any attention to where the ball was.  Dom watched it all the way though and so was able to glance the ball, while almost on his knees, wide to the left of Lammens to grab an equaliser.  It was one of those goals where there are a few seconds silence before you realise that the ball had gone into the goal, but the explosion of noise was in stark contrast to the silence that was emanating from the majority of the ground.  It was nothing more than Tottenham deserved for their brave attacking display and even more so when reduced in numbers.

The Tottenham goal reinforced what Gary Neville said at the World Cup about Martinez, that he has a mistake in him and will concede goals.  There is getting touch tight to the man you are marking and then there is grappling with him with no interest in where the ball is.  It was rank bad defending but Dom did brilliantly firstly to out-muscle the defender and turn him around and secondly to get as deft a header on the cross that it deceived Lammens, who was stock still as the ball went past him, unable to react.  Coming so late in the game helped Spurs because, even though United pressed for a winner, their efforts to do so were wild and wide.

The point was a victory for Tottenham (even though Solanke’s post match interview reckoned it didn’t feel like that).  To have dominated United, then gone a goal down, then gone a man down, to come away with a draw, considering our current form and league position, was a great result.  It was the very least we deserved.  As for United, even if they had won, it wouldn’t hide the fact that they are not very good and on tonight’s evidence not better than Spurs.  The booing that came at 25 minutes, half-time and the end indicated that their fans had put down their prawn sandwiches to demonstrate their disaffection with the team.  Lammens’ inability to keep his kicks on the pitch was the trigger for it, but the nature of their attacking play and sloppy passing added up to a team who look like they don’t want to play and the energy level is something that should be a minimum requirement, but it was at the bare minimum that they put in for most of the match.

So the minority of the crowd left happy with the majority not keeping silent.  There is still along way to go in terms of Tottenham’s development and how far the season has to run, but there are signs that things are coming together and now the squad are off to Marbella for a week ahead of the Coventry match on Monday week, it must be hoped that the time will be well spent.  But don’t get carried away, just remember, it’s only United lads !

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