Matthijs de Ligt snatched a point for Manchester United deep into stoppage time, heading home in the 96th minute to seal a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday. The result extended United's unbeaten run to five games but left both sides, tied on 18 points from 11 games, with lingering questions. Spurs, who thought they had secured their first home league win in six attempts when they took a lead moments earlier, had more to see.
Manchester United initially seized control through Bryan Mbeumo, who opened the scoring in the 32nd minute with a header following a clipped ball from Amad Diallo. Mbeumo, a summer signing, registered his sixth goal of the season. United looked poised for a comfortable win, and goalkeeper Senne Lammens made excellent second-half saves to deny Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. However, the game turned on its head in the final minutes, prompting frustration from United manager Ruben Amorim, who later accused his team of being "too comfortable."
Spurs’ late rally began in the 84th minute when substitute Mathys Tel equalized, crashing a shot home after swiveling onto a cross. The home crowd then erupted in the 91st minute when Richarlison, who had been the subject of recent criticism, got a fortunate touch on a Wilson Odobert shot, flicking it past Lammens to give Spurs a 2-1 lead. Richarlison's celebration, though, quickly turned to disbelief as United, who finished the match with 10 fit players after Benjamin Sesko suffered a knee injury post-substitution, refused to give up.
The equalizer came from a Bruno Fernandes corner in the final seconds. De Ligt met the delivery at the far post, heading the ball home for the last-gasp 2-2 result. United coach Ruben Amorim expressed disappointment, citing the failure to close out the game, similar to their previous 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest.
Amorim said, “To overcome everything and to manage to score is a good thing. But if you look at the rest of the game, we were comfortable and I think we should do better, be more aggressive.”
For Tottenham boss Thomas Frank, who saw his initial substitution choice of Tel booed by the home support, the drama ultimately resulted in a single point, avoiding a fourth home loss of the season but not securing the needed win. The two teams are level on points, with Spurs currently sitting third and United seventh on goal difference.