As part of the sixth day of the Premier League, Manchester United hosted Tottenham at Old Trafford for a duel between two teams who have been in great difficulty since the start of the season. With only one victory in five games, Michael Carrick’s Red Devils hoped to revive against Spurs last in the championship with only two points. However, it was Roberto De Zerbi’s men who immediately took control of the match. From the 3rd minute, Dominic Solanke took advantage of a poor recovery from Senne Lammens to create a huge opportunity, but the Belgian goalkeeper made up for it with a superb save. Faithful to the principles of their coach, the Londoners imposed high and constant pressure, preventing Manchester United from getting the ball out cleanly. A domination which could have been rewarded in the 20th minute, but a low shot from the penalty spot grazed the Mancunian post. Gradually, the locals managed to loosen the grip under the leadership of Bruno Fernandes. Amad Diallo created a chance in the 33rd minute, failing to deceive Antonín Kinský, before Conor Gallagher in turn missed the opener after an error from Leny Yoro, Lammens intervening perfectly with his foot (41st). Despite a first period largely dominated by Tottenham, the two teams returned to the locker room with a goalless draw (0-0), with Spurs remaining silent at the break for the sixth time in as many championship matches.
Returning from the locker room, Manchester United showed better intentions, with more technical mastery and fluidity in transmissions. Tottenham nevertheless continued to appear dangerous, notably thanks to Savinho, whose breakthrough forced Luke Shaw to intervene on his line (48th), before Dominic Solanke missed the target on a cross from the Brazilian (50th). In the 54th minute, Youri Tielemans thought he would open the score on a serve from Matheus Cunha, but the ball had previously gone out of bounds. The entry of Joshua Zirkzee then allowed the Mancunians to better retain the ball and find more offensive solutions. A return to form was rewarded in the 72nd minute, when Bryan Mbeumo completed a nice combination on the left side. Served by Cunha, the Cameroonian carried out an oriented control before deceiving Kinský with a cross shot from the left (1-0). Six minutes later, Tottenham found themselves down to ten men after the direct expulsion of Rodrigo Bentancur, guilty of a dangerous tackle then a header on Luke Shaw (78th). While Manchester United appeared to be heading for a valuable victory, Spurs finally snatched the equalizer in added time. On a cross from Sandro Tonali, Solanke got the better of Lisandro Martínez to tie the two teams (1-1). A saving goal for the London captain, which allows Tottenham to move up to 18th place with three points, without however securing their first victory of the season. Manchester United remains 12th with six units. The Red Devils will travel to Leeds next Sunday at 3 p.m., while Tottenham will host Coventry the next day at 9 p.m.
