2-2!95 minutes of defeat, Manchester United Tottenham Hotspur lost both, and Arsenal sat in the top four
After winning the Carabao Cup last season, Ten Hag's popularity has reached its zenit and is highly anticipated by Manchester United fans. However, this season, the Red Devils' record has ushered in a big decline, and they are bottom of the Champions League group, finishing only 9th after 20 rounds of league play. Ten Hag will have to lead his side to more victories in order to cement his position, and on this matchday United face tough opponents Tottenham Hotspur, who are fifth and expected to challenge for the Champions League places, and are also aiming for three points. Hojlen and Marcus Rashford exchanged passes and Timo Werner provided the assist on his debut, giving United two leads, two equalisers, and a 2-2 draw with Tottenham, which allowed Arsenal to secure a top-four finish.
Ten Hag continued the 4-2-3-1 system at home, with Marcus Rashford, Fernando Fernandes, Garnacho and Marcus Rashford lined up, and Onana, who had been controversial, continued to guard the final hurdle.
Postecoglou used a 4-3-3 formation, with new signing Timo Werner given a start as Son Heung-min travelled to the Asian Cup, joining Richarlison and Brennan Johnson in the trident, with Van der Veen and Romero returning to defend the Tottenham defence.
With the referee's whistle, Manchester United kicked out a dream start, in the 3rd minute, Garnacho crossed in the midfield, B Fei kicked a straight plug to instigate a counterattack, Rashford cut inside on the left, his heel was just right, Hojlen shook off the angle and burst into the goal, 1-0!
With a goal in hand, Manchester United will be hoping to take advantage of the win and continue to extend their success. In the seventh minute, Eriksen crossed from a corner and Rashford volleyed in from the back post, but the ball went just wide.
Tottenham, who escaped the catastrophe, quickly returned to color, and in the 11th minute, Polo crossed from the right side of the penalty area, and Werner nodded the ball away, and Evans almost scored an own goal. From the ensuing corner, Bentancur jumped high to head home, and Diogo Dalot made a crucial clearance in front of the goal line.
In the 19th minute, Tottenham won a corner kick again, Polo's cross was powerful and landed, Richarlison shook his head in the middle of the goal, sent the ball into the far corner, Onana nailed it in place and watched, the score came to 1-1! In the 31st minute, there was a controversial penalty on the field, Garnacho broke through in the penalty area, and fell to the ground under Udogie's defense, slow motion showed that Udogie had a move to hug Garnacho, but the referee did not indicate it.
In the 39th minute, Rashford took the ball on the left side, transferred a wide range to prepare to connect with Garnacho, and Udogie's header popped up on the post, almost giving the opponent an own goal gift. However, one minute later, Manchester United played a tacit cooperation, Hojlen and Rashford hit the ball in succession, the latter took the opportunity to push the far corner to score, Manchester United led again, 2-1!
In the second minute of stoppage time of the half, Porro's corner cross, Romero got rid of Varane's entanglement and jumped to the top from close range, but unfortunately the ball hit the crossbar, Tottenham could not equalize, and Manchester United was able to return to the dressing room with a one-goal advantage.
Back on the pitch, Tottenham quickly equalised. In the 46th minute, Werner cut inside on the left side, Bentancur inserted a calm breakthrough, and volleyed from a small angle, and the score became 2-2! Werner contributed an assist on his debut, and the fans ridiculed him as a "golden reconnaissance plane".
In the 57th minute, Porro took a corner kick and Timo Werner volleyed it just over the crossbar at the back post, and there was a sudden uproar in front of Manchester United's goal. Twice leading and twice levelled, Ten Hag was clearly unacceptable and opted for a substitution in the 58th minute when Scott McTominay pulled off the mediocre Eriksen. Just three minutes later, McTominay delivered a high-quality long-range shot that grazed the post and went out of bounds.
In the 72nd minute, Hojlen retreated to respond and hit a straight ball just right, but Rashford did not observe his teammates' running at all, ignored Garnacho who was in the vacant position, and singled out two Tottenham defenders with the ball, and was finally cleared by Van der Veen. In the 95th minute, Garnacho's cross from the left was headed over the crossbar by Scott McTominay, and United missed the winner.
In the end, Manchester United drew 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur, making it two consecutive games without a win. Arsenal emerged as the biggest winners, beating Tottenham on goal difference to remain fourth in the table.