Manchester United welcomed Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford in their first match since the international break.
First half
Senne Lammens gave the Old Trafford faithful a scare when his poor pass failed to find Kobbie Mainoo, but he made up for his error with a strong left hand to deny Dominic Solanke.
On 13 minutes, Leny Yoro was called into action to make an impressive sliding tackle in the box to prevent Lucas Bergvall from getting a shot at goal. In a poor start for United, Bergvall did get off a shot from range, but it cleared the bar comfortably.
Tottenham Hotspur cut through a lethargic United with ease, and after some good work, Mohammed Kudus fired wide when left alone in the box. United finally had their first shot after 33 minutes when a fortunate deflection allowed Mbeumo to break free and, in transition, he found Amad, whose shot was saved by Antonin Kinsky.
The Red Devils continued to look completely disjointed and almost caused their own downfall when they gave the ball away to Conor Gallagher in the box, but Youri Tielemans managed to get back just in time to make a tackle. The first half ended with whistles from the Old Trafford crowd as their team managed just one shot on goal in 46 minutes of action.
Second half
United started the half with more impetus, and Luke Shaw had a dangerous cross turned behind.
Tottenham Hotspur went right up the pitch and Savinho broke free, and Shaw had to clear the ball out of an incredibly dangerous area of the pitch. The Red Devils were playing with fire when the away side cut through them with ease again, and Solanke managed to clear the bar from close range.
Fernandes almost got the Stretford End on their feet when he danced through the Tottenham Hotspur defence, but he lost the ball in the box just before striking it. Youri Tielemans had the ball in the net after a cutback from Matheus Cunha, but the ball had clearly gone over the byline.
United were thankful again for the inefficiency of Tottenham Hotspur in front of goal when Maguire headed away a ball across goal. Carlos Baleba came on for his debut for the club, and Old Trafford warmly received him.
The energy levels went up, and Fernandes had an effort from the edge of the box that drifted just wide. The Red Devils got their noses in front in the 73rd minute when Bryan Mbeumo, after Matheus Cunha played the ball into the box, expertly turned and fired the ball into the bottom corner in front of a delighted Stretford End.
The game exploded into action when Rodrigo Bentancur and Luke Shaw clashed. The Englishman pushed him aggressively, but the Uruguayan stuck his head into his face and saw red as a result.
United broke into space, but Zirkzee failed to control Mbeumo’s pass into the penalty area. Baleba won the ball back and played a great ball down the line for his compatriot, Mbeumo, who raced forward but had his shot stopped by Kinsky.
United almost got a second when they worked the ball well into the box, but Cunha’s effort was well blocked by the Tottenham Hotspur defence. Old Trafford groaned as the fourth official indicated eight minutes, and Tottenham Hotspur scored shortly after.
Lisandro Martinez got his marking job all wrong, and the ball hit Solanke and drifted into the net past Lammens. The home crowd were left stunned by their side’s ineptitude in closing out the victory against the ten men of the league’s bottom team.
Baleba had an opportunity in the last moments to be a hero on his debut, but he fired over the crossbar from just outside the box.
Starting XI: Lammens, Shaw, Yoro, Martinez, Maguire, Mainoo, Tielemans, Fernandes, Amad, Mbeumo, Cunha
Subs: Baleba, Zirkzee, Dalot, Rashford, Heaven
Featured image by Alex Livesey via Getty Images
