Sports Desk, Jan 15 (EFE).- Manchester United squandered a lead twice to settle for a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur, depriving them of a chance to improve their tally in the English Premier League on Sunday.
Richarlison of Tottenham Hotspur (C) in action against Raphael Varane of Manchester United (R) during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in Manchester, Britain, 14 January 2024. EFE-EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Rasmus Hojlund ignited the contest in just three minutes with an unstoppable left-footed missile.
Marcus Rashford of Manchester United (C) scores the 2-1 goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in Manchester, Britain, 14 January 2024. EFE-EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Richarlison soon equalized, heading home a corner at the far post to score his sixth goal in the last six matches after taking 47 matches to score the same number of goals previously.
Rodrigo Bentancur of Tottenham Hotspur scores the 2-2 goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in Manchester, Britain, 14 January 2024. EFE-EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Marcus Rashford connected with Hojlund to score his first goal at Old Trafford this season, turning the game United’s way five minutes from the break, but Tottenham refused to relent.
Cristian Romero hit the crossbar with an explosive header from a corner of Pedro Porro, who already had seven assists in the league, the joint-highest by a defender in the top five European leagues this season.
The Spurs came back strong in the second half, with Bentancur scoring 50 seconds after the break from debutant Timo Werner’s assist, the Uruguayan midfielder’s first goal since February last year.
“When you score two great goals and you concede two such soft goals, then you are a bit disappointed,” United coach Erik ten Hag said on MUTV.
“I’m also pleased with the performance of the team because it was a good spirit and in stages of the game they played decent football,” he added.
Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou also expressed his satisfaction.
“We played some great stuff, scored a couple of goals, probably unlucky not to win the game,” he said on the club’s Review Show.
The draw means United are still in eighth place with only one win in the last six rounds of the Premier League, eleven points behind Liverpool and eight points from the Champions League spot.
Tottenham, who only won two of their last 11 league games against Manchester United, could have gone past Arsenal’s 40 points in the table with a win but instead remained stuck in fifth place after the draw. EFE
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