By Ahmad Ali, Sports Editor
Dominic Solanke glanced Sandro Tonali’s cross beyond Senne Lammens in the second minute of stoppage time at Old Trafford on Saturday to earn 10-man Tottenham Hotspur a 1-1 draw with Manchester United — a point that pulled Roberto De Zerbi’s side off the bottom of the Premier League, and one that leaves Michael Carrick’s United with their worst start to a season in four decades.
Bryan Mbeumo had appeared to have settled it on 73 minutes, turning in a crowded penalty area after Matheus Cunha’s cutback and curling a low finish past Antonin Kinsky with the help of the inside of the post. Six minutes later Spurs were down to ten, Rodrigo Bentancur dismissed for violent conduct after pushing his head towards Luke Shaw following a crunching challenge and the England defender’s shove in response. Bentancur had been on the pitch for 13 minutes.
That should have been the end of it. Instead Tottenham, who had not scored a first-half goal all season and had not scored an away league goal at all, pushed bodies forward in the eight added minutes and found their captain. Solanke peeled off Lisandro Martinez, met Tonali’s delivery with a flick of the neck and sent it into the far corner.
The numbers said Spurs deserved it
For all that the late equaliser had the look of larceny, the underlying picture did not. Tottenham generated 1.56 expected goals to United’s 0.77 and created four big chances to the hosts’ one. Kinsky made three important saves; Lammens made more.
- Lammens’ wayward pass was intercepted by Lucas Bergvall inside three minutes, only for the Belgian to recover and deny Solanke from close range.
- Mohammed Kudus dragged a low effort wide after working the left, and Spurs spurned a presentable chance in the minutes before the interval.
- Shaw cleared Savio’s cross off his own line early in the second half; Solanke lifted another opportunity over the bar from inside the six-yard box.
- Youri Tielemans had a finish ruled out when the ball was judged to have crossed the line for a goal kick in the build-up.
Solanke’s own assessment was blunt. “I wouldn’t say it feels like a win,” he said. “In the first half we played so well, dominated the majority and should have been a couple of goals ahead. I probably should’ve had three goals today.” On the dismissal he was diplomatic: “It all happened so quickly so I haven’t seen it back yet. It shows the fight in the team.”
It was a fourth career goal against United for Solanke, and a third scored at Old Trafford — a ground that has become unusually generous to him. For Bentancur, it was a first red card in more than five years and only the third of a career spent largely in Europe’s top divisions.
De Zerbi has something, but not yet a win
This is the context that matters: Tottenham have not won a league match since May. Three points from six games, all of them from draws, has them 18th. De Zerbi arrived on 31 March as the club’s third head coach of the previous campaign, replacing Igor Tudor with Spurs a single point clear of the relegation places, and signed a five-year contract that contains no relegation release clause. He was given control of football operations rather than a narrow head-coach brief — a structure Tottenham have not attempted in the modern era.
That makes the first half at Old Trafford more significant than the point. De Zerbi’s side pressed a Champions League club into submission on their own ground for 45 minutes and then, reduced to ten, declined to sit in. Choosing to chase an equaliser a man short against United is a decision that gets a manager pilloried if it ends 3-1. It ended 1-1.
What is still missing is the finishing, and the first-half goal that would stop these afternoons from turning into rescue missions. Spurs host Coventry City on 19 October — a fixture that, on this evidence, is the one De Zerbi cannot afford to treat as routine.
United’s problem is older than this result
Six points from six matches is Manchester United’s lowest tally at this stage of a season since 1986-87, the campaign that ended with Sir Alex Ferguson’s arrival. They sit 12th and are now winless in four league games. Carrick’s triple substitution immediately preceded Mbeumo’s goal, which is the sort of detail that normally earns a manager a week of credit; instead he spent the final period watching a one-goal lead against ten men evaporate.
The deeper issue is that United controlled almost nothing. Against a side bottom of the table, without an away league goal and eventually a man light, they mustered 0.77 xG and one clear opening. A season defined by a brittle midfield and a reliance on Cunha and Mbeumo to manufacture something from nothing does not look structurally different under Carrick than it did before him — and the fixture list offers no respite, with a trip to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League followed by a meeting with Leeds United.
Two clubs, then, left Old Trafford with the same problem framed differently. Tottenham found character and still have no victories. United found a lead and could not keep it. One of those is a foundation. The other is a pattern.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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