Man United’s failure to beat Spurs exposes how deep the trouble runs for Carrick and his staff
Manchester United threw away a late lead at Old Trafford on Saturday, conceding a 92nd-minute equalizer that salvaged a 1-1 draw for Tottenham Hotspur. Dominic Solanke headed in the leveler even though Spurs had been down to 10 men since Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for head-butting Luke Shaw.
United had taken the lead through Bryan Mbeumo midway through the second half. The home supporters had arrived hoping to mock their neighbors at Manchester City, whose case has been engulfed in scandal, and they sang “You cheating bastards, you know what you are” before kickoff. After Mbeumo’s goal, they added a dig at Spurs with “You’re going down with the City.” By the final whistle from referee Stuart Attwell, though, the fans were fixated on their own side’s failure to close out the game.
The result leaves United with their worst start to a season after six games since 1986. Head coach Michael Carrick did not hide his frustration. “Massively disappointed with the result for sure,” he said after the match. “A mixed performance, to be totally honest. I think it was tough. It was challenging for the first period, definitely.”
Carrick saw signs of progress. “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 Pattern of Late Collapses
The pressure on Carrick is growing. Solanke’s header was the third time this season that United have conceded in stoppage time, and two of those late goals, against Everton and Spurs, have cost the club four points. Carrick refused to blame his players, but he made clear what he expects.
“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,” Carrick said. “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.”
The defensive breakdown drew scrutiny. Lisandro Martínez struggled to deal with Sandro Tonali‘s cross, which was floated toward Solanke, and the Spurs striker found the net. Senne Lammens could also have done better. Martínez might have headed the ball clear rather than dancing around his opponent.
Solanke’s goal means Spurs have now joined City in scoring at Old Trafford this season after having a man 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 beat United 1-0 at Old Trafford despite having Idrissa Gueye sent off for slapping his own teammate.
Carrick identified the solution. “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,” he said. “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.”
Boos and a Late Spark
Fans booed after just 20 minutes, as Spurs, who started the day bottom of the table, began brightly and United struggled for large parts of the first half. The Premier League’s damning guilty verdict in City’s case had dominated the international break, but the frustration at Old Trafford returned quickly.
The energy changed when Carlos Baleba made his debut just before the hour mark. The £70 million summer signing from Brighton & Hove Albion gave United a lift that had been missing. His cameo would have been the story of the day on another afternoon, but United’s inability to finish off a game they should have won overshadowed it.
United now face a demanding run. They travel to Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, then head to Leeds United next weekend. After that comes another tough European assignment at Como. Carrick insists his team’s biggest problem is losing on the wrong side of fine margins. To start moving in the right direction, United must change that quickly.