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Spurs fight back twice to earn thrilling point at Man Utd

14 Jan 2024
Rodrigo Bentancur

Goals in either half from Richarlison and Bentancur secure 2-2 draw at Old Trafford

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Tottenham Hotspur twice came from behind to earn a point as they shared a thrilling 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford gave Man Utd leads, but they were pegged back by Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur.

It is a first home Premier League draw for Man Utd, who were also playing in front of prospective shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, since March 2023, while Spurs have taken four points from their two matches with United, having won 2-0 against them back in August, as they move joint-level with fourth-place Arsenal.

Premier League

Position Pos Club Played Pl GD Points Pts
4 Aston Villa AVL 34 +21 66
5 Spurs TOT 32 +16 60
6 Man Utd MUN 33 +1 53
7 Newcastle NEW 33 +15 50
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How the match unfolded

Timo Werner made his Spurs debut after joining on loan from RB Leipzig, while fellow signing Radu Dragusin was named among the substitutes.

Hojlund returned to the starting XI and he rewarded that decision with a third-minute opener, emphatically rifling his left-footed shot into the roof of the net for his second Premier League goal in as many home matches.

Spurs were almost back on level terms soon after, but Bentancur's near post header was cleared off the line by Diogo Dalot.

The visitors were in the ascendancy though and produced their first equaliser in the 19th minute when a superb corner from Pedro Porro was flicked in by the in-form Richarlison for his seventh league goal this season.

Richarlison v Man Utd

Spurs have now scored in each of their last 33 Premier League matches since a 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers in March. It is now the outright longest scoring run in the club's league history.

Chances kept coming for both sides as Destiny Udogie almost put through his own net shortly before the break, as his attempted headed clearance from a Rashford cross came back off a post.

And five minutes before half-time, United led for the second time as Rashford played a one-two with Hojlund and calmly placed his effort into the bottom corner for his first goal at Old Trafford since May.

Marcus Rashford

There was still another opportunity in first-half stoppage time for Spurs to score again, but Cristian Romero’s powerful header from Porro's corner crashed off the crossbar, as a pulsating opening 45 minutes came to an end.

The second half picked up where the first left off, as Spurs struck within 50 seconds of the restart. Werner cut inside before playing in Bentancur, who collected the ball and unleashed a fine left-footed strike past Andre Onana.

Substitute Scott McTominay, enjoying the best scoring season of his career, almost restored United’s advantage once more, but his low strike went wide of a post.

United then made another change as Lisandro Martinez came on in place of Jonny Evans for his first appearance since September and received a huge ovation from the home supporters.

Spurs made a defensive change of their own, as Dragusin was introduced with five minutes remaining.

There was one final chance for a winner in stoppage time, but McTominay could only head Alejandro Garnacho’s cross onto the roof of the net as both sides had to settle for a point.

Man Utd move up to seventh with 32 points, while Spurs remain two places above and now have 40 points.

Next five Premier League fixtures
Key facts

This was the first time Manchester United had failed to win a Premier League game at Old Trafford when leading at half time since 12th February 2022 (1-1 v Southampton), with the Red Devils having won each of the previous 15 when going into the break ahead.

Rashford scored his first goal at Old Trafford this season, with his previous one for Manchester United coming against Chelsea last May. Today was his 14th home appearance of 2023/24 across all competitions, while he netted with what was his 32nd shot across those outings.

Spurs have scored in each of their last 33 games in the Premier League (since a 0-1 defeat at Wolves in March last season), now the outright longest scoring run in the club's league history.

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