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Steven Bergwijn’s first-half opener was cancelled out by Bruno Fernandes’ late penalty as Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United played out an eventful 1-1 draw in their first match back after the lockdown layoff.
The Dutchman gave the home side the lead in the 27th minute when he blew past a static Manchester United defence to finish powerfully past David de Gea in the United goal. The visitors piled on the pressure in the second half and were rewarded with a penalty in the 81st minute, one which was coolly converted by their Portuguese playmaker to give them a share of the points.
Both sides came close to finding the winner but honours were even at the final whistle as Manchester United and Spurs remain fifth and eighth in the table respectively. While each player on the pitch was returning from a nearly three-month absence, some were making their return after an even longer injury layoff.
Here’s how each of them fared on the night:
Tottenham Hotspur:
Hugo Lloris: 7/10
The Frenchman was definitely the busier of the two keepers and played a large part in keeping his side in the game. Although he wasn’t unduly tested in the first half, he kept the visitors at bay in the second, the highlight of his performance being a spectacular diving save to deny Anthony Martial what seemed like a certain goal.
Serge Aurier: 7/10
The Ivorian did not hesitate in pushing forward every chance he got and caused considerable problems for Luke Shaw. Aurier claimed the assist for the opener, feeding Bergwijn for his excellent solo effort. His defensive frailties were perhaps not fully exploited by Marcus Rashford on Manchester United’s left flank, who was coming back after a long time out through injury.
Davinson Sanchez: 7/10
The Colombian was given the task of marking Rashford when Aurier bombed forward and stuck to his task manfully, snuffing out a number of promising United attacks. He stayed resolute even as Manchester United turned the screws in the second half and made a number of telling tackles.
Eric Dier: 6/10
A surprise inclusion in the center of the Spurs defence, Dier seemed relatively comfortable in the opening exchanges as United’s forwards were largely deprived of the ball. His second-half performance was a mixed bag. He put in a superb sliding tackle to deny Martial a clear shot at goal but was also beaten all ends up by Paul Pogba and conceded the penalty that led to the equaliser.
Ben Davies: 6/10
He marshalled his pacy countryman Daniel James expertly in the first half, keeping his attacking exploits to a minimum. However, Davies seemed to get sucked in towards the center of defence as the clock ticked on, allowing Manchester United increasingly more room down their right flank.
Moussa Sissoko: 7/10
Seemingly under strict instructions to shield the Spurs back four and break up the play in midfield, the big Frenchman went about his duties with no fuss and was a reassuring presence in midfield for Mourinho’s men.
Harry Winks: 6.5/10
Although Spurs’ midfield duo was outnumbered and outrun by Manchester United’s trio for large parts of the game, Winks did not allow himself to be flustered and stuck to the basics in his usual tidy style. While his defensive display was solid, his attempts to join in the attack were less so.
Steven Bergwijn: 7.5/10
Despite being on the fringes of the action at the start, the Dutchman showed no signs of rust when the chance presented itself. His goal was his third in three appearances at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, so he is clearly taking to life in London. However, he rarely troubled Manchester United’s defence apart from his well-taken goal and was taken off with 20 minutes to go.
Erik Lamela: 7/10
With Dele Alli out of the side, the Argentine was keen to impress and saw a lot of the ball in the opening exchanges. His lively display was characterised by some clever passes, some rash tackles, and energetic running, before being replaced by Gedson Fernandes on the 70 minute-mark.
Son Heung-min: 6/10
Having undergone military service in South Korea and having recovered from a broken arm between his last Premier League appearance and this one, Son would have hoped to have come up against a less attentive defender than Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The young Englishman’s close attentions kept Son largely starved of the ball as he struggled to get involved in the play.
Harry Kane: 5/10
It was a disappointing return to first-team action for Spurs’ talismanic striker as he was uncharacteristically off the pace all evening. The combined efforts of Maguire and Lindelof kept him quiet throughout and forced him to drop deep into midfield to get involved in the play as service was scarce.
Substitutes:
Giovani Lo Celso: 6/10
The Argentine replaced goalscorer Bergwijn, by which time Manchester United were in the ascendancy and the home side struggled to mount any attacks of note. Apart from featuring in a couple of counters that eventually led to nothing, Lo Celso hardly got on the ball during his short stint on the pitch.
Gedson Fernandes: 5/10
The Portuguese midfielder came on for Lamela with 20 minutes to go but failed to recreate the Argentine’s high-energy display, spending his time shunted out to the left wing from where he did not produce much.
Manchester United:
David de Gea: 5/10
Questions must be asked of the Spaniard’s handling of Bergwijn’s opener as he seemed to get a hand to the ball but failed to keep it out. However, he did manage to recover from the error to produce an acrobatic diving save to deny Son the chance to score a second. He was a spectator for most of the second half as his side went on the attack from the whistle.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: 7/10
The young Englishman kept Son quiet throughout the game and even got forward at every opportunity. Although his crosses started off a bit off-target, they improved markedly as the game wore on, showing that he is starting to embrace the attacking aspect of his game as well.
Victor Lindelof: 6/10
Even though Manchester United’s defenders weren’t called upon too frequently throughout, Lindelof was just as culpable as the rest of his back line in allowing Bergwijn to maraud through to score the opener. The Swede eventually came off with a knock in the 78th minute.
Harry Maguire: 6/10
The Manchester United skipper was caught out for the opener, as he left the space for Bergwijn to exploit and failed to catch up with the Dutchman. Besides that, the Englishman showed great desire in bringing the ball forward from deep at every opportunity and initiating attack after attack.
Luke Shaw: 6/10
Although Shaw was enterprising in attack and made a couple of vital interceptions during the course of the game, his weak clearing header led to Manchester United conceding the opener.
Scott McTominay: 6.5/10
He matched Fred with an all-action display and popped up in all parts of the pitch over the course of the match. The young Scotsman put in a number of tough tackles, some more well-timed than others. Displaying great team spirit, McTominay even slotted into centre-back in a back three after Lindelof went off injured but was replaced late on by Eric Bailly.
Fred: 6.5/10
It was a typical all-energy display from the Brazilian, who had really started to come into his own as a Manchester United player before the season was interrupted. He offered nothing too flashy and did his defensive duties well before being replaced by Paul Pogba on the hour mark.
Daniel James: 6/10
Lots of desire but little end product from the Welshman, who was kept in check by Ben Davies down the Manchester United right. He showed glimpses of his searing pace and was always willing to get forward, but could not offer much and was replaced by Greenwood just after the hour.
Bruno Fernandes: 8/10
The Portuguese was the away side’s main creative outlet and always seemed to be on hand with a clever pass or deft flick. He was at the heart of all of Manchester United’s best moves and came close with a couple of long-range efforts before dispatching a nerveless penalty to draw his side level. The January arrival is still undefeated in a United shirt since he joined from Sporting Lisbon.
Marcus Rashford: 6/10
Returning after a lengthy injury layoff, Rashford looked lively in patches but struggled to break down a resolute Spurs defence. He seemed to be given particularly close attention by Davinson Sanchez as well as Moussa Sissoko, but still had Manchester United’s best chance of the first half. The 22-year-old receded a bit in the second half and was outshone by Manchester United’s midfield duo of Pogba and Bruno Fernandes.
Anthony Martial: 5/10
Like Kane on the other side, Martial played through the middle, but was starved of service and struggled to get on the ball for large parts of the game. The Frenchman had two great opportunities, one denied by a great sliding tackle from Dier while the other was spectacularly blocked by a diving Hugo Lloris. Martial was eventually replaced by Ighalo towards the end of the match.
Substitutes:
Paul Pogba: 8/10
Manchester United fans were not disappointed by the much-anticipated Pogba-Fernandes link-up in midfield. The Frenchman made his long-awaited return to action on the hour and immediately breathed new life into his side’s attacking play.
His entry seemed to coincide with Manchester United’s most threatening spell of the game and he helped keep their foot on the gas, skinning Eric Dier for the penalty that led to the equaliser. Pogba showed flashes of brilliance during his time on the pitch, which bodes well for the future.
Mason Greenwood: 6/10
Having come on for James after the hour mark and taken up his position on the right flank, Greenwood hardly got on the ball as most of Manchester United’s play came through the middle. The young forward came close with a shot right at the death but managed to send it just wide of the post.
Nemanja Matic: 6/10
The experienced Serbian replaced Lindelof in the 78th minute and slotted into center-back to help his side see out the game. He was later moved back into midfield after Eric Bailly was introduced, from where he kick-started a few promising attacks.
Odion Ighalo: 5/10
Replacing Martial on 78 minutes as Manchester United chased the game, the boyhood Manchester United fan hardly got a kick of the ball during his time on the pitch but still put himself about.
Eric Bailly: N/A
The Ivorian replaced McTominay with just a couple of minutes to go as Manchester United looked to shore up their defence, and was hardly on the pitch long enough to make an impact.
