Tottenham ground out a 1-1 draw with Man Utd at the Tottenham stadium in a game that United dominated in terms of possession but struggled to breach a well organised, well-drilled and largely efficient Spurs backline.
United grabbed a point thanks to a clumsy Eric Dier foul on Paul Pogba who definitely bought the penalty with a well-rehearsed swan lake impression.
Tottenham player ratings
Hugo Lloris – 9
Was fantastic every time he was called on, saved beautifully from Rashford early on and pulled off a world-class save to deny Martial
Serge Aurier – 6
Had his usual moments of incompetence but overall did fairly well considering Spurs were on the back foot for large parts of the game.
Davison Sanchez – 7
Was nearly responsible for letting United score when he weirdly headed the ball straight to Rashford but all things considered, had a solid game.
Eric Dier – 6
It is easy to go off into one with Dier because he did get schooled by Pogba and was responsible for a foolish challenge that allowed the Frenchman to earn a soft penalty but overall he did fine and hopefully will improve as a centre back.
Ben Davies – 7
Thought he did ok, he handled James efficiently but needs to be better going forward.
Harry Winks – 5
Not his best game and was frequently overrun in midfield, too negative too often and lacks that killer pass when needed.
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Moussa Sissoko – 6
Worked tirelessly but as with Winks lost the midfield battle to United and struggled to relieve the pressure on the Tottenham defence.
Steven Bergwijn – 8
Was nearly the match-winner and ran himself ragged, he looks a class act and will be even better with this game under his belt. He frightened United when he had the opportunity to run at them.
Erik Lamela – 7
Surprise inclusion and as per usual ran down a lot of blind alleys, he needs to be sharper with his passing and release the ball quicker but did a good job on the whole.
Son Heung-min – 6
Lacked his normal touch on the ball, was lacking in pace but did remain a constant threat on the counter. This game will have helped him a lot in terms of sharpness and match fitness.
Harry Kane – 4
Clearly not match fit and was largely anonymous which tends to be the case with the England captain when he comes off a long injury. The fact he did the whole 90 minutes will definitely help his fitness levels but truth be told, he offered no threat and was nowhere near his best.
Subs
Giovani Lo Celso – 6
Was an immediate threat when he came on, Spurs looked more dangerous and his short time on the pitch showed the difference he can make.
Gedson Fernandes – 5
Did ok when he came on but offered little threat and he did appear to give up the chase a little too easily for my liking.
Manager
Jose Mourinho – 6
He had a game plan, which was the wrong game plan in my opinion because once again he played far too negatively with the talent at his disposal and trusting that defence to keep United at bay for 90 minutes was always risky and it failed to get the win.
Very disappointing we cannot hold onto a lead
1-0 would have been a great result
Typical Mourinho. A back 4 and 2 holding midfielders. It nearly worked tactically, but it was not a good performance. Lamela was lively, but that final pass was missing today. With more quality he could have helped put this game to bed.
Where the hell was ndombele? Lo celso injured yet gets game time over our record signing. Tangs looked a class apart for lyon pulling the strings and battling in midfield, Sissoko did a fantastic job at that today but what’s the point of playing winks when he’s a wet lettuce devoid of any attacking guile. Ndombele should have been started but
wasn’t even brought on as a sub. Embarrassing recruitment but even more annoying is the way we have handled our new signings. Fernandes was straight into the first team for utd with an instant impact, what a difference 10m and some solid man management makes.
Seriously, Aurier outscored Winks. I’m no fan of Harry but he kept the ball and guarded the back 4 well with Sissoko.
Could have been worse, pre Covid the form we were in we would have been well beaten. Another flying attacker like Bergy would be great. The more I look at the players the more problems I see, too many square pegs in round holes. Early days, but two points dropped means less room for manoeuvre. Was it Harry Kane who said we’d have to win eight out of nine?