Mancashter United (Home) 08.11.2025

When Spurs line-ups are announced they are not put out in a formation these days, so you have to try and work out how Thomas Frank is going to set out the starting XI.  With Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani in the team, you imagined that Richi was to be out on the left wing, although quite a lot of the time he drifted into the middle, leaving us light on the left.  A large number of Spurs fans would have been happy that Rodrigo Bentancur was rested to pair Pape Matar Sarr and Joao Palhinha in the defensive midfield roles.  With Mo Kudus still out, Brennan Johnson took up his position on the right wing and Xavi Simons was given the central attacking midfield role.  The defence was fairly standard although Djed Spence was preferred to Destiny Udogie.

United must have won the toss as they chose to make Spurs play towards the Park Lane end in the first half, with Fernandes probably trying to upset us (how would have thought it ?) by doing so.

The match started with United being given a free-kick for a soft foul on Mazraoui, which de Ligt took, passing back to their keeper, who let the ball go under his foot for a corner !  Pushing and shoving delayed the taking of the corner, which was swung in over everyone going for a goal-kick.  United looked to get the ball in behind Porro for Mbeumo to find space on their left wing and Kolo Muani played a neat one-two but Brennan Johnson was just too heavy with his touch as he burst into the box between Maguire and de Ligt.  Tottenham’s high press was putting pressure on United as they tried to play out from the back, forcing the visitors to play long.  With United getting every man back behind the ball when they lost it, the amount of available space to play in was limited.

Randal went down off the ball after clashing off the ball with Maguire, although the referee deemed there to be no foul play.  With 15 minutes played, Brennan chopped the ball back onto his left foot and crossed into the middle where Richarlison was totally free, but totally missed the ball with his head just outside the six yard box, but the ball ended up coming off his shoulder as it went well wide.  Pape struck a shot from outside the box, but it didn’t come down quick enough for him and the ball kept going up high into the South Stand.  

Much of the play was untidy to say the least.  Mis-placed passes, players running into each other and niggly fouls all added up to a lack of entertainment.  In the 23rd minute, Cunha popped a ball up onto Cristian Romero’s arm out side the box but play went on for him to get into the area, where Sarr blocked his shot for a corner.  Later in the half, a long ball down the United left was hacked into the air by Djed Spence and Brennan covered for him when Diallo beat him to the ball when it dropped, crashing into a tackle that took the ball off for a throw.  The United goal came in the 34th minute.  A cross into the Spurs box was taken down on his chest by Sarr and played just behind him for Micky to clear.  The ball hit Fernandes directly in front of him, with the ball crossed in to the middle of the box by Dorgu, for Mbeumo to head into the air.  Djed headed it away to Diallo, but the ball was recycled by Cunha and Diallo, who dinked a cross into the heart of the penalty area for Mbeumo to head home unmarked from six yards out.  

The rest of the half was solely notable for Tottenham crossing the ball straight off the pitch when Johnson and Porro had space on the right.  At least the appearance of Glenn Hoddle at half-time for Paul Coyte’s interview gave us some superb goals to savour on the big screen.

Things livened up for Spurs fans a couple of minutes into the second half when a throw-in on the left wing brought Cristian Romero forward, it was cleared but he stayed in the box to meet substitute Wilson Odobert’s cross with a flick of the outside of his boot bringing a very good reaction save from Lammens, who kicked the ball wide with the shin of his right leg as he fell backwards.  Xavi was busy and won the ball 20 yards out, running across to the right, he was pulled back twice by Cunha before the ref gave the free-kick and failed to book the united man for a foul not dissimilar to the one Johnson was yellow carded for.  The free kick was knocked right for Djed to cross to the far post, but Casemiro won a header that went only as far as the penalty spot where Palhinha hit a right foot volley as he fell forcing the keeper to push the ball away.

United brought on the lanky Sesko to act as a target man to relieve pressure on their goal, but the only relief they got was when play had to be stopped when Mbeumo caught Porro on the jaw with an elbow.  Richarlison set up Brennan after Porro had won the ball in the United half and although the Welshman stuck the ball away in the 65th minute, he was well offside when he received it.  United had a good chance when a ball through the middle put Fernandes in the clear, but he lacked the speed to get away from Joao, who pressured him into lifting his shot well over the bar.  At that point Amorim changed Yoro, Ugarte and Mount for Maguire, Cunha and Casemiro and a long ball just after that was flicked on by Mbeumo for Sesko, but the striker was way offside. 

Dorgu was booked for a late challenge on Spence as Thomas Frank provoked the ire of some supporters by taking Xavi Simons off to be replaced by Mathys Tel, while the recently booked Palhinha made way for Rodrigo Bentancur.  With just six minutes left, Spurs moved the ball to the left, with Sarr playing it further wide to Odobert whose low ball into the box was controlled by Tel with his back to goal and with his next touch swivelled .  

United responded when Mount turned the ball inside to his left to play Sesko in on the edge of the area, but a magnificent recovery tackle by van de Ven slid in to got a touch that came off Sesko and the ball went into the arms of Vicario, who had come out to meet the striker.  It was a tackle reminiscent of Ledley King’s on Chelsea’s Robben at the Lane all those years ago and received a cheer as loud as for a goal.  Sesko had stayed down and Cristian went down with the Spurs skipper being replaced by Kevin Danso, while the United forward left the pitch, but could not be replaced as they had made their five substitutions. 

Wilson was having fun on the left wing, taking on Yoro with ease and he put in a cross that Mathys just failed to get a clean contact on, with his volley bobbling towards the far post before Lammens grabbed it.  Spence took on Mbeumo and his fierce low cross was put out for a corner by de Ligt, which was headed out to Odobert just outside the D and he hit a fierce shot that found the bottom left corner of Lammens’ goal.  Richarlison threw his shirt off as the video replay showed that his flick on the ball directed it past the keeper, with Ugarte playing him well onside.  Coming one minute into six to be added on, it looked as though Spurs had turned the deficit into a win.

When Mount put in a crude tackle in on Odobert, it was strange for the referee not to book him, as it was cynical and made no attempt for the ball.  Mbeumo won a corner off Johnson and the keeper came up for it.  It was played deep to the far post where de Ligt had a free header that squeezed into the top corner by the post before Vic could push it out.  It wasn’t quite the last kick but Danso being booked for his first foul on Ugarte was ridiculous compared to those fouls he had let go for United. 

The final whistle wasn’t greeted by boos as the half-time one had, but there was a shocked Spurs crowd who ended up feeling as though the match ended in defeat after being so close to a win.

There was some vindication for Frank’s substitutions with Tel and Odobert involved in both goals, but despite the energy shown by Simons and Kolo Muani, there was still not the flowing football that the manager seeks.  There were some signs of better link-up play, although chances were at a premium for both sides and Vicario had less to do than the United keeper during the match.  in Truth, there was a lack of quality shown by both sides for most of the game, with misplaced passes and players not making space to help the ball being played out, but the substitutions made by both sides affected the game.  Amorim’s assessment that his side had the result in the bag and Frank’s changes that were unpopular with certain sections of the Spurs crowd, turned the match in Tottenham’s favour before the late, late leveller.  The draw was probably the fairest result and a win would have been a great boost after the focus put on our poor home form, but it could have ended up a lot worse, so grateful for small mercies, the point will do.

We got into the international break in fifth position without having played to our full potential and that gives the club a little time to try to get some of the players out of the treatment room and back on the grass.

• –