Premier League

MANCHESTER UNITED 2 (Hojlund 3, Rashford 40)
TOTTENHAM 2 (Richarlison 19, Bentancur 46)

THE LACK of depth at Tottenham has long been a bugbear: a great first XI in a league that is a 25-man game.

But the impact of Ange Postecoglou on this squad, and the rebuild overseen by former director of football and now freelance consultant Fabio Paratici, was on display at Old Trafford this afternoon (Sunday) in a scintillating 2-2 draw that Spurs felt they should’ve won.

The away side, missing shoe-in starters James Maddison, Yves Bissouma, Heung-Min Son, Pape Matar Sarr and Dejan Kulusevski – along with fringe players like Dane Scarlett and Ryan Sessegnon – went to United and dominated.

A midfield of Oliver Skipp and Pierre Hojbjerg – both tipped to leave if the right bid comes in and definitely bench warmers – with the returning Rodrigo Bentancur ran the show.

Tottenham did fall behind twice to an early goal from Rasmus Hojlund and then, at the end of the first half, from Marcus Rashford. Both were mighty finishes but against the run of play. Richarlison and then Bentancur pulled Spurs level but the side ran out of road as they chased the winner.

Speaking after the game, Postecoglou said: “I thought it was an outstanding performance considering the challenges we had in putting a team out there today. It’s a difficult place to come and play, obviously a big game for United as well.

“A win today would have given them some momentum. We went a goal down pretty early and this group of players, every time we’ve had to deal with adversity, have just done it in an outstanding manner. I couldn’t be prouder of them.

“I thought some of our football was fantastic. I thought we were unlucky not to win the game. Irrespective of that, the performance and the effort the boys put in was first rate.”

The Tottenham boss revealed a virus had swept through the team in the week, meaning Kulusevski could not travel, while Skipp and Destiny Udogie managed to turn in remarkable performances considering they were returning from the flu.

“These guys are just not going to make excuses,” added Postecoglou. “If we didn’t play well today or not got a result today, they wouldn’t want me to come out here and make excuses, but the reality of it is when you consider guys who haven’t played for quite a while and guys still with what they’ve had to deal with. I just thought Pierre coming in, Rodrigo and even Skippy, who haven’t started games in quite a while, it took an enormous effort from the lads and credit to them.”

On three minutes, Bruno Fernandes reminded everyone that while United may feel like a listing team of disparate parts, some of those parts are still world class. He dissected the Spurs back line with a ball forward. Udogie got there but couldn’t clear, and Hojlund gave United boss Erik Ten Hag a perfect start with a thumping finish.

Tottenham shook themselves off and went for it: Brennan Johnson laid on a ball for new signing Timo Werner, who watched his goal-bound header get cleared by Jonny Evans. Bentancur also saw an effort cleared by Diogo Dalot.

The equaliser on 19 minutes came when Richarlison rose highest in a clump of players and guided the ball home with a glancing header.

With possession statistics ranging from 60 per cent to 85 per cent at times, Postecoglou’s charges were in control of the game, leaving United looking for long-ball counters.

Against the run of play Rashford put the hosts back in front to give United a half-time lead. That advantage, however, was wiped out by Bentancur just a minute after the restart when he belted the ball into the back of the net after being played in by Werner.

Tottenham continued to push for the winner, but in the end had to settle for a 2-2 draw. There were plenty of positives for Postecoglou, however, with Skipp and Hojbjerg proving that they can offer squad depth, while Richarlison had one of his best games yet for the club.

Above all, the result shows how far the Postecoglou project has got in a short space of time. Half a first-team and they’re bossing Manchester United. The omens for 2024 bode well.

Manchester United: Onana, Dalot, Varane, Evans (Martinez, 63), Wan-Bissaka, Mainoo, Eriksen (McTominay, 58), Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford (Antony, 88), Hojlund.
Substitutes not used: Bayindir, Casemiro, Heaton, Forson, Pellistri, Kambwala

Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven (Royal, 89), Uodgie, Skipp (Dragusin, 84), Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Johnson, Richarlison, Werner (Gil, 80).
Substitutes not used: Forster, Austin, Santiago, Donley, Dorrington