Matthijs de Ligt earns late 2-2 draw for Man United against Tottenham Hotspur

LONDON – Matthijs de Ligt salvaged a 2-2 draw for Manchester United at Tottenham Hotspur in a frantic finale, as both sides missed the chance to go second in the English Premier League on Nov 8.

Spurs looked to have secured a dramatic victory, having trailed with six minutes to go, as Mathys Tel equalised before Richarlison headed home in the 91st minute.

However, de Ligt powered in a 96th-minute header to extend United’s unbeaten run to five games. Both sides have 18 points from 11 games.

“Luckily we got a point. I think we deserved more the way we played. I felt the second half we were a little tired. We didn’t get the chance to get out of our half,” said de Ligt on TNT Sports.

“I’m proud of how the team fought back and got a point at a difficult stadium. Last year we lost against Nottingham Forest and Tottenham 1-0, but last week (also 2-2 draw against Forest) and today you see we have the fire in our bellies to fight and get a point.

“You saw today we are really dangerous – we have a lot of speed up front, we are really stable, we know our strengths and utilise them... We played a good game and I think we deserved a little more.”

The Red Devils have now failed to beat Spurs in their last eight meetings, but it was the clash before Nov 8 that will live long in the memory of the Tottenham support.

Spurs ended their 17-year trophy drought thanks to a scrappy 1-0 win in the Europa League final in May, which also took them into the Champions League while United missed out on European football altogether.

Despite the huge blow to United’s finances and prestige, Ruben Amorim is making the most of having more time on the training ground to finally build some momentum after a tough first year at Old Trafford.

Unlike most of United’s big-money signings in recent years, Bryan Mbeumo has proven his worth since a £65 million (S$111 million) move from Brentford in July.

The Cameroonian was named Premier League Player of the Month for October and took his tally to four goals in as many games, when he headed in from Amad Diallo’s cross on 32 minutes.

Spurs were booed off after a woeful attacking display in losing a London derby 1-0 to Chelsea last weekend.

After another dreary first 45 minutes, the hosts came to life early in the second period.

Senne Lammens produced a brilliant stop to turn Cristian Romero’s flick behind. The Belgian goalkeeper was quickly called into action again to parry Joao Palhinha’s effort.

Brennan Johnson, who scored the winner when the sides last met in Bilbao, was then denied an equaliser by the offside flag.

Tottenham’s burst of attacking threat quickly fizzled out, though. Discontent among the home fans with manager Thomas Frank showed when his decision to replace Xavi Simons was roundly booed.

However, the Spurs boss can claim his changes turned the game around.

Destiny Udogie crossed for fellow substitute Tel to turn and fire into the top corner via a deflection off de Ligt.

Wilson Odobert, introduced off the bench at half-time, then curled a shot towards the far corner that Richarlison flicked in to leave Lammens helpless.

The Brazilian tore off his shirt and was reduced to tears in his celebration.

Yet, it still was not enough to earn Tottenham a first home league win since the opening weekend of the season.

De Ligt was offered too much space at the back post from Bruno Fernandes’ corner and his header was too powerful for Guglielmo Vicario.

“This is football. Sometimes 50-50, sometimes something else. I want to stay positive because the reaction in the second half was really good. We showed great mentality,” said Tel on BBC Sport.

“First half we tried things. We were really patient. We lost two points. We get one but we deserved to win this game. Like I say, we need to stay positive and keep going – working hard every day.” AFP