Manchester United did not manage to give a warm welcome to their new co-owner, Jim Ratcliffe, as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Tottenham at Old Trafford on Sunday.
It was Ratcliffe’s first time attending a match since acquiring a 25 percent stake in the club for $1.3 billion.
In a season where goals from United’s forwards have been scarce at Old Trafford, both Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford found the back of the net in the first half, with Richarlison equalizing in between. Rodrigo Bentancur then scored early in the second half to level the scores once again.
The draw sees Tottenham level with their north London rivals, Arsenal, just outside the top four on goal difference.
But they’ll be delighted with the draw since it keeps them eight points clear of United, who move up to eighth.
“Outstanding performance given the challenges we had to put a team out,” said Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, who was missing captain Son Heung-min, who is away at the Asian Cup, among five first-team regulars who were absent.
“We’re not here because everything is running our way. We’ve not had an easy year, and the only reason we are in the position we are is because the players are willing to put aside adversity.”
Ratcliffe stated before the start of the game that investing in his childhood club is the most thrilling investment he has ever been a part of.
However, the British billionaire, who was seated next to the legendary former United manager Alex Ferguson in the directors’ box, quickly experienced the ups and downs of owning a football club.
Erik ten Hag’s team desperately needed to win the match in order to catch up with Spurs in the race for a spot in next season’s Champions League.
The Red Devils couldn’t have asked for a better beginning. Hojlund, who was transferred from Atalanta for £72 million ($92 million), took 15 games to score a goal in the Premier League.
The Danish player scored two goals in two games in the English top flight. He scored the first goal by shooting a loose ball high past the goalkeeper after only three minutes.
New loan signing, Timo Werner, was included in the starting lineup due to Tottenham’s absences. Werner had previously struggled in England with Chelsea, but he was unlucky not to score a memorable goal when his header was cleared by Jonny Evans.
From a corner kick, Bentancur’s header was cleared off the goal line by Diogo Dalot.
However, Manchester United didn’t learn from Tottenham’s set-piece threat and conceded a goal when Richarlison scored from a delivery by Pedro Porro.
Despite Tottenham’s control of the game, they were still behind at halftime. Rashford, who hadn’t scored at Old Trafford since May, showed signs of finding his form and scored a goal by exchanging passes with Hojlund.
This was the first time Rashford and Hojlund scored in the same game, and their partnership is hoped to continue to improve.
Tottenham had a chance to equalize before halftime, but Werner missed a good opportunity. Romero also hit the crossbar with a header from a corner.
In the second half, Werner assisted Bentancur to score a goal. Both teams had chances to win the game, but Richarlison’s shot was too close to the goalkeeper, and McTominay missed a header in the last moments of the game.
