Spurs twice come from behind to deny Manchester United

SHOWING THEIR SPURS: Tottenham's Rodrigo Bentancur celebrates. Pic credit: AP Photo/Dave Thompson.

Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 2

ERIK ten Hag had to settle for a point as his audition under new boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe started in earnest with an entertaining draw against Spurs.

Goals from Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford had put the Red Devils in the driving seat with Ratcliffe in attendance for the first time since he bought 25 per cent of the club before Christmas.

But poor defending twice allowed the visitors to level, first through Richarlison and then Rodrigo Bentancur with a goal which came within a minute of the restart, as ten Hag was still walking along the touchline to take his seat on the United bench.

Ratcliffe will have the ultimate say on how much longer ten Hag will hold that position and, at least, the growing form of Rashford and Hojlund suggests the second half of the current campaign may not be as dismal as the first had been.

Three goals, and both sides hitting the woodwork, made for a thrilling first half, even if the quality of the two defences left something to be desired.

And after Richarlison’s opening goal for Spurs had been sandwiched in between efforts from Hojlund and Rashford, it took just 50 seconds of the second half for Bentancur to equalise.

Spurs broke and loanee debutant Timo Werner cut in from the left, picking out Bentancur who ran on and beat Jonny Evans and Andre Onana from the edge of the six-yard box.

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford scores his side's second goal. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

United’s defence had already shown how porous it could be in conceding a 19th minute equaliser, when Richarlison rose unmarked to head in Pedro Porro’s corner from inside the six-yard box.

And Spurs might have levelled before the interval when Christian Romero met another Porro corner and powered a header against the bar, again from close range.

But despite their defensive frailties, a United attack which had scored just 22 goals from their opening 20 league games looked far more fit for purpose than it has for most of the first half of the campaign.

After just three minutes, Bruno Fernandes found Rashford whose progress was stopped by Destiny Udogie but, after the ball broke kindly for Hojlund, the £72 million Dane lashed home just his second league goal for the club, with a ferocious shot.

In an end to end game, United thought they had re-gained the lead, following the first Spurs equaliser, when Udogie tried to clear Rashford’s 38th minute cross but headed it against the foot of his own post.

Tottenham escaped on that occasion but there was no similar reprieve two minutes later, when Fernandes pushed the ball inside to Rashford who immediately played a razor-sharp one-two with Hojlund.

The England striker collected the return before burying his first home goal of the season past Guglielmo Vicario.

But, as had been the case throughout the half, there was no sense of United being able to take control of the game and, after their second goal, Spurs pushed to take the lead for the first time.

Richarlison shot straight at Onana and Werner hooked over from yet another threatening Spurs corner and ten Hag responded by bringing on Scott McTominay in a bid to try and win more of the ball in midfield.

It might have had the desired effect at the other end, with the Scot soon rolling a shot just wide from the edge of the area, and ten Hag was further able to try and add solidity with the welcome sight of Lisandro Martinez returning to action, off the bench, after being out injured since September.

McTominay had the final say in the contest, with virtually the last touch of the game, as he headed over a glorious chance from Alejandro Garnacho’s cross.

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Onana 6; Dalot 5, Evans 5 (Martinez 63, 6), Varane 5, Wan-Bissaka 5; Mainoo 6, Eriksen 5 (McTominay 58, 6); Garnacho 6, Fernandes 7, Rashford 7 (Antony 87); Hojlund 8.

Substitutes (not used): Bayindir, Casemiro, Heaton, Pellistri, Kambwala, Forson.

Tottenham (4-1-4-1): Vicario 6; Porro 7, Romero 5, van de Ven 5 (Royal 89), Udogie 6; Hojbjerg 6; Johnson 5, Bentancur 8, Skipp 7 (Dragusin 84), Werner 6 (Gil 80); Richarlison 7.

Substitutes (not used): Forster, Austin, Alonso, Donley, Dorrington.

Referee: J Brooks 7.