Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur: Solid Draw at the Theater of Dreams

It was goals galore for both sides as a 2-2 draw in an intense super-sunday. Points were shared as Ange Postecoglu’s injury problems were no problem as he held United to a harsh draw at the theater of dreams.

Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur missed some big names. The international break in other continents means Sofyan Amrabat missed out for Manchester United. 

The Casemiro injury meant the Brazilian was a big miss in the United midfield.

Tottenham Hotspur missed their danger man Son Heung-Min - who is currently the third best chance creator in the Premier League.

James Maddison remained out with an ankle injury, whilst Ivan Perisic was out for a lengthy amount of time with a cruciate ligament injury.

The game marked the debut of new signing Timo Werner for Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham went into the game ranked the third best team in away games - which is a big stat for a match away to Old Trafford.

Antony Dos Santos remains on the bench on the back of controversy earlier this year.

The Erik Ten Hag press conference spoke out on Jadon Sancho and his loan deal to Borussia Dortmund.

“I hope he's doing well. So, I wish him the best of luck. I hope it will be a success."

3RD MINUTE GOAL - Rasmus Hojlund got Manchester United off to a flier - the early possession rewarded the Red Devils as Cuti Romero and his fellow defenders were caught off guard.

The 12th minute saw Spurs get unlucky as Diogo Dalot’s anticipation meant a goal line clearance with his head. 

Sir Jim Ratcliffe was in the stands amongst a jubilant United support during the vibes of an early goal. The Old Trafford atmosphere was certainly there. The Glazer ownership of Manchester United has long since been protested by fans.

19TH MINUTE GOAL - Richarlison ended the jubilance of the United support as Pedro Porro found the Brazilian’s gallant leap from a corner.

Yellow cards flared for Wan Bissaka and Rodrigo Bentancur for rough play and kicking the ball away respectively. Bookings began to be handed out.

A few protests could be heard in the 32nd minute as Garnacho is handled pretty roughly in the box. Penalty calls are dismissed by John Brooks.

40TH MINUTE GOAL - Marcus Rashford found space amongst the chaos around the Spurs box, good work by Bruno and Hojlund helped Rashford swift past the defense and slot it into the bottom right corner.

Marcus Rashford finally finds his goal at Old Trafford after going goalless in Manchester United’s home stadium so far this season. His 32nd shot at home meant he could finally find the net.

Timo Werner’s darting run on the ball finished with no end product - with the ball being sent rolling past the post.

Despite mass pressure from Spurs and a few chances in United’s box, nothing came out of it in the dying minutes before the break.

Half time saw Tottenham with more possession of the ball (63%) but Manchester United having taken more of their chances - with six shots to Spurs' ten. 2-1 to Manchester United at half time.

46TH MINUTE GOAL - The break ended and it slid right back into the action, with Timo Werner helping Bentancur place a powerful shot into Onana’s near-post. 2-2 meant game on.

The 52nd minute meant a huge chance for Richarlison but it was slightly mishit and Onana gathered the ball in a dangerous situation.

Scott McTominay replaced Christian Eriksen in the 58th minute. 

Spurs had an outstanding xG of 1.11 as compared to Manchester United’s 0.3 in the 60th minute. Despite the pressure, United stood tall relying on counter attacks to combat Spurs possession play.

Man Utd (0.92) 2-2 (1.50) Tottenham

— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) January 14, 2024

Substitute McTominay gambled a shot from just outside the Spurs box in the 62nd but the ball JUST rolled past the post.

Udogie suffered an injury scare after a few frantic moments of battle against United players. Ange Postecoglu looked set to make changes but Udogie stayed on the pitch.

The 70th minutes saw an end-to-end game with a few shots on target being recorded but nothing too dangerous. Manchester United surely upped their tempo with the introduction of McTominay to the field.

Debutant Werner came off with an assist in the bag for Bryan Gil in a tactical substitution by Ange Postecoglu on the 80th minute mark.

Despite Garnacho and Rashford combining numerous times the match remained all to play for in the dying minutes. Both sides looked urgent and continued the game’s end-to-end status quo.

The fourth minute of injury time COULD HAVE been the decider for Manchester United as Scott McTominay’s head finds a cross in front of a shocked Vicario, only to spray it over the bar.

It took Rasmus Hojlund FOUR MINUTES to open the scoring during Man United vs Tottenham. The man of the match also set up Marcus Rashford’s first goal in Old Trafford this season. One total shot and one goal shows the Danish sniper’s quality. 85% accurate passes also backs up his link-up play capabilities.

Rasmus Hojlund: “We're a little bit disappointed. We played a very good game, everybody is starting to click, but then we conceded two not so good goals - especially the first one, from a corner, when we should be more focused.” #MUFC pic.twitter.com/tBaWacGXpY

— Stretford Paddock (@StretfordPaddck) January 14, 2024

During his time at Chelsea, Timo Werner won the UEFA Champions League under Thomas Tuchel. After leaving for Leipzig in the Bundesliga, he returned on loan and made his debut during this game for Chelsea’s direct London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur.

Timo notched an assist for Rodrigo Bentancur in the 2-2 equalizer for Spurs. Werner gave a short interview to Sky Sports after the match.

First of all, very happy to be back, I think it makes a lot, of a lot of fun to play here.
You see today it’s the best league, how the tempo is, how the game is going. I enjoyed it very much to be outside there with the guys. At least one point, in the next few days when I can train more with the guys it can go better.

Manchester United: Onana 6.3, Wan-Bissaka 7.1, Varane 6.2, Evans 6.5, Dalot 7.9, Mainoo 6.2, Eriksen 6.4, Rashford 7.4, Fernandes 6.8, Garnacho 6.8, Hojlund 8.4.

Subs: McTominay 6.5, Martinez 6.0, Antony 5.8.

Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario 5.4, Udogie 7.1, Van De Ven Romero 7.2, Porro 8.3, Bentancur 7.5, Hojbjerg 6.8, Skipp 7.4, Johnson 6.9, Richarlison 7.8, Werner 7.0.

Subs: Gil 6.0, Dragusin 6.0, Royal 6.0.

Match highlights: Manchester United 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Manchester United will either play Eastleigh or Newport County in the next round of the FA Cup on Sunday 28th January. Tottenham will face Manchester City in the same round, although on the 26th January.