Owen Hargreaves highlighted Manchester United’s late equaliser against Tottenham Hotspur, with the game ending 2-2 after three late goals.
Rúben Amorim opted to start Matheus Cunha up front as Manchester United travelled to North London to take on Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday’s Premier League clash.
The opening half hour was evenly contested despite Tottenham enjoying the bulk of possession, with neither side managing a shot on target. United eventually broke the deadlock when Bryan Mbeumo nodded home from close range after a superb cross from Amad, giving Amorim’s side a slender advantage at the interval.
Tottenham came out pressing hard after the restart, forcing goalkeeper Senne Lammens into several sharp saves to preserve United’s lead. Brennan Johnson thought he had equalised midway through the half, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
Both managers turned to their benches in search of a late breakthrough. Frank’s changes paid off first, as substitute Mathys Tel drew Spurs level with seven minutes remaining.
In stoppage time, Tottenham appeared to have snatched victory through Richarlison, but Matthijs de Ligt rose highest to power home a dramatic header at the death, ensuring the spoils were shared in North London.
De Ligt’s set-piece equaliser
Very shortly after Tel’s equaliser, substitute Benjamin Šeško went down with an injury, not being able to continue. As United had already used all their substitutions, they were forced to see out the six minutes of extra time with ten men.
Richarlison’s 91st-minute goal looked like the final blow for Amorim’s men, but in yet another dramatic turn of events, just moments away from full-time, de Ligt rose highest from a corner to head into the back of a net, salvaging a point.
Speaking on TNT, former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves spoke on the Dutch centre-back’s dramatic equaliser, also talking about his verdict on the game.
“Yeah, brilliant reaction, obviously. I think it’s Brennan Johnson, he’s marking De Ligt, and he just loses sight of him. I mean, we’ve seen that deeper ball on set pieces be such a feature this season.
“It’s a great ball, and it’s a fabulous header from De Ligt, obviously, at the death. I think, in the end, I think it’s 2-2 is probably a fair result.”
De Ligt has been phenomenal this season
Signed in 2024 for around £35 million, many were worried about the 26-year-old’s injury record after his spells at Ajax, Juventus, and Bayern Munich. Despite this, de Ligt has played every single available league minute this season and has comfortably been among the top performers at the club.
While it’s new signing Mbeumo who has been spotlighted for his performances, earning him the October player of the month, de Ligt has been imperious at the back for United despite their issues earlier in the season.
While he had some struggles playing as the right-sided centre-back, the Dutchman has now firmly established himself as the long-term central centre-back in United’s lineup
The Reds now go into the November international break on a five-game unbeaten run, and will look to build on that as much as possible before star players such as Amad and Mbeumo leave the side to play in the Africa Cup of Nations, where Amorim’s men may struggle.
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