Manchester United continued their impressive unbeaten run on Saturday away at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a thrilling 2-2 draw.
It was a cagey affair for most of the game on Saturday, as it took over 30 minutes for Manchester United to break the deadlock, and the game remained 1-0 until the 84th minute, when desperation from both sides started to kick in.
Bryan Mbeumo scored a lovely header to give his side the lead as he continued his fine run of scoring, making it four goals in the last four games for the newly crowned Premier League Player of the Month.
However, Spurs flipped the script with substitute Mathys Tel finding the leveller, and Richarlison latching onto a Wilson Odobert shot to take the lead in the 91st minute. But the final twist was yet to come, with Matthijs de Ligt making the game 2-2 from a corner in the 96th minute to salvage a point for his team.
Both teams missed a handful of decent chances to add to the scoreline; however, in the end, a point apiece for either side seems to be a fair result.
Thomas Frank Praises United’s firepower
In a post-match interview relayed by Manchester World, Spurs boss Frank was quick to highlight the brilliance of Mbeumo, whom he coached last season at Brentford, where the player racked up 20 goals and eight assists.
“I think it’s not the first time Rúben [Amorim] has, how can you say, played around with the front three. I think no matter where Bryan plays, he’s a threat, which he showed again today.”
Frank also acknowledged the rest of the United forward line when praising his side for how they coped against them.
“Overall, a good performance against a good Man United team, which is definitely in flow. We are talking a bit about our, how can you say, level of defensive-attacking threats and to play against a Man Utd side that plays with confidence with [Matheus] Cunha, Mbeumo, Amad, and [Benjamin] Šeško coming on, and we kept them to five shots.
“They look, how can you say, more in sync together. But I think, especially going forward, they look like a big threat. That’s why I actually think, I know we conceded two goals, but if you said to me before the game, concede five shots in the game, I would take that. So we’re all happy.”
Spurs defended very solidly throughout the game, which is a credit to Frank and the players. Although United were not as creative as they would have liked, they can take huge positives from how clinical they were, managing to score two goals from only two shots on target.
How good were United against Spurs?
The recurring theme mentioned by the players, and by Amorim after the Spurs game and the Forest game, is that if the team can’t win, they will ensure they don’t lose. With back-to-back late equalisers, this mentality is becoming increasingly apparent.
Despite not playing at their best in the last two games, which saw them go from three wins in a row to two draws, the shift in their mindset is majorly important and should not be understated.
In his post-match interview, de Ligt mentioned that last year, United lost to Forest and Spurs 1-0; therefore, drawing and, in the manner in which they did, fighting until the end of the game, the improvements are very clear and something to build on.
Furthermore, Mbeumo also told TNT Sports that “It brings us confidence when we don’t lose,” which shows that, despite not winning the game, the players will still feel that they are taking a good momentum into the next game they play.
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