Tottenham Hotspur grabbed a 92nd-minute equaliser to hold Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, despite playing with 10 men for most of the second half. Dominic Solanke’s late header cancelled out Bryan Mbeumo’s goal, and it left United frustrated once again.
The home supporters had arrived hoping to mock their neighbours, Manchester City, whose case has been engulfed in scandal. Their chants of “You cheating bastards, you know what you are” rang out before kickoff. When Mbeumo put United ahead midway through the second half, the fans turned on Spurs with “You’re going down with the City”. Yet by the final whistle, referee Stuart Attwell had blown, and the City scandal had faded from supporters’ minds. Instead, they struggled to understand how Tottenham, reduced to 10 men after Rodrigo Bentancur’s red card for head-butting Luke Shaw, had snatched a point.
Carrick admitted that the result left him disappointed. “Massively disappointed with the result for sure,” he said 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.”
A Worrying Pattern
The spotlight will inevitably fall on Carrick. The draw means United have endured their worst start to a season in six games since 1986. Carrick does not blame his players publicly, and he did not do so again in his post-match news conference, but he has every right to expect more from his side.
Solanke’s header was the third time already this season that United have conceded in stoppage time. 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,” said Carrick. “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.”
That repeated failure points to a fragile mentality and an inability to cope with pressure when it matters most. Lisandro Martínez will be unhappy with his part in the goal, as he allowed Solanke to find space when Sandro Tonali’s cross floated in. Senne Lammens could also have done better.
Solanke’s goal means Spurs have now joined City in scoring at Old Trafford this season after an opponent was sent off. United have also 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,” said Carrick. “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.”
Baleba Offers Hope
Spurs, who started the day bottom of the table, began brightly, and boos rang out around Old Trafford after just 20 minutes. Carrick’s side were outplayed for large parts of the first half, though the frustration had been temporarily eased during the international break by the damning guilty verdict against City.
The mood began to shift when Carlos Baleba, United’s £70 million summer signing from Brighton & Hove Albion, came on just before the hour mark. His introduction brought more energy and intent to the team. It was a positive debut, but United’s inability to get over the line in a game they should have won overshadowed his cameo.
United now face a demanding run of fixtures. They travel to Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, then head to Leeds United next weekend. After that, they face another tough European assignment at Como.
Carrick insists that his biggest concern is that United have been on the wrong side of fine margins so far this season. He needs that to change quickly if his side are to head in the right direction.