Manchester United drew 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Saturday, and Tottenham’s equalizer came in the 92nd minute. Dominic Solanke’s header rescued a point for the visitors, who had been down to 10 men since Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for head-butting Luke Shaw.
United fans had arrived hoping to enjoy themselves at the expense of Manchester City, whose neighbors are embroiled in a scandal of their own. Their chants of “You cheating bastards, you know what you are” rang out before kickoff. Bryan Mbeumo gave United the lead midway through the second half, and the home supporters followed with a dig at Spurs: “You’re going down with the City.” By the final whistle from referee Stuart Attwell, though, the City saga had faded. Fans streamed out of the stadium discussing how Tottenham, who had started the day bottom of the table, had found a late equalizer.
Carrick admitted the performance was not good enough. “Massively disappointed with the result for sure,” he said afterward. “A mixed performance, to be totally honest. I think it was tough. It was challenging for the first period, definitely.”
He pointed to the improvement after the break. “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 Costly Pattern of Late Goals
The result leaves United with their worst start after six games since 1986. Carrick has not sought to blame his players, and he did not do so in his post-match news conference, but the pressure on him is growing. Solanke’s goal was the third time already this season that United have conceded in stoppage time. Two of those late goals, against Everton and Tottenham, have cost them four points.
“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.”
Defensive errors contributed to the goal. Lisandro Martínez will not want to see it again, as he was unable to clear Sandro Tonali’s cross before it reached Solanke. Senne Lammens could also have done better.
Struggles Against Ten Men
Solanke’s goal means Tottenham joined Manchester City as the only teams to score at Old Trafford this season after having a player sent off. United have now failed to win any of their past three games against sides with 10 men. In March, they lost 2-1 at Newcastle United after Jacob Ramsey was sent off. In November, under Ruben Amorim, Everton beat them 1-0 at Old Trafford despite having Idrissa Gueye dismissed for slapping his own teammate.
“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,” Carrick 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.”
The last time United had fewer than six points after six games, Ron Atkinson was sacked as manager. Carrick is not there yet, but the pressure is building.
Baleba Offers Hope
Tottenham began the match brightly, and boos rang out at Old Trafford after just 20 minutes as Carrick’s side were outplayed for large parts of the first half. The change came when Carlos Baleba, United’s £70 million summer signing from Brighton & Hove Albion, came on just before the hour mark. His introduction brought more energy and intent to the team. It was a positive debut, but United’s failure to close out a game they should have won overshadowed it.
United travel to Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, then face Leeds United next weekend. After that, they face another tough European assignment at Como.
Carrick insists his biggest concern is that United keep losing out on fine margins this season. He needs that to change quickly if his team is to start moving in the right direction.