Feckless Man United were dreadful and embarrassing at times in Spurs draw: Play like this in a week of reckoning and Michael Carrick will be clinging to his job, writes IAN LADYMAN

DAILYMAIL.COM • 1h ago

By IAN LADYMAN, FOOTBALL EDITOR 20:16 10 Oct 2026, updated 20:22 10 Oct 2026

At Old Trafford they revelled in what they believe will be the imminent downfall of their neighbours at Manchester City. They sang their songs about cheats and about relegation. They dragged old banners down from the loft and repurposed them. They bedded in for what they believe and hope will be a long and tortuous decline for the team from the east part of town.

But then they watched their own team play and reality came crashing in like a hangover after a good night out. It’s hard to revel in the problems of others when your own team is as bad and as feckless as this.

Manchester United almost got away with it here. They were largely dreadful – embarrassingly and shamefully so in the first half – but looked set to win after a Bryan Mbeumo goal was followed by the sending off of Tottenham substitute Rodrigo Bentancur.

The Uruguayan’s headbutt on Luke Shaw stands out as one of the most stunning acts of self-harm in a Spurs season that has had a few. What an idiot.

Before that Spurs had dominated but missed chances. We have seen this gory movie from Roberto de Zerbi’s team a few times already this season. As such United looked to somehow go home with only their second Premier League win of the season. Huge cracks looked set to be covered by three points on this occasion at least.

But for the second home league game running, United could not manage to beat ten men. Last time it was City and a 1-0 defeat here after Phil Foden’s red card. This time it was an injury time Dominic Solanke goal that did for them. The boos at the end were loud and long and thoroughly deserved.

United have a heck of a week ahead now. Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday and Leeds United next Sunday. Both away. If they play anything like this they lose both and Michael Carrick will be clinging on to his job before we have even bought our fireworks.

Worryingly for the United manager, his team don’t look particularly well coached and in a first half that Tottenham dominated didn’t look that keen to run around very much either.

Remember when Gary Neville had them for not trying hard enough in that 1-1 draw at Fulham before the international break? Well, this was worse.

United should have been two goals down after 25 minutes. The reason they weren’t lay in the identity of the opposition. Spurs were impressive for large parts of this game. Conor Gallagher was magnificent while Archie Gray was not far behind. But they have forgotten how to win so once again they didn’t.

Still it’s not hard to see how Tottenham get out of the mess they are in down the near the foot of the table. Their results feel as though they will turn. United? They just don’t look good enough.

Carrick and his staff had three weeks to think about this game, to work out how to correct the problems of early-season. Yet United’s first-half football was moribund. They were outplayed by Tottenham from the opening minute and, more damningly, they were outrun too.

We have seen this before from Spurs this season. Good football and no goals. Here they did everything but score.

Solanke, later to be the hero, was the most obvious culprit of the first half. In just the third minute, United goalkeeper Senne Lammens passed the ball straight to Lucas Bergvall and when he played Solanke through, he allowed Lammens to save when he should have been given no chance.

That set the tone for the half. Spurs – with key players on the bench for a variety of reasons – were organised and purposeful and energetic. Gallagher was excellent while Savio and Mohammed Kudus carried threat if not always the right end product.

United, by contrast, were lame. They seemed content to let Spurs come on to them and only started to muster some kind of momentum on the break in the final ten minutes of the half.

Spurs were particularly progressive down their left where United’s emergency right-back Leny Yoro had a difficult time. A goal should have come from there in the 21st minute when a nice combination allowed Savio to feed Kudus only for the shot on the turn to fly by the post.

There was also a shot over the bar from Bergvall and a break into the box by Gallagher that was halted by a desperate but timely toe-poke from the retreating Youri Tielemans.

On the touchline De Zerbi looked grimly frustrated and no wonder.

Early in the second half Savio was again away down the left and once again his low cross almost led to something for his team but didn’t. Then, a minute later, the Brazilian did find Solanke in the middle only for another good chance to go begging, this time over the bar.

Later on a misdirected Harry Maguire interception allowed Savio in only for Kobbie Mainoo to divert the shot over. In between all that United had shown some belated promise.

New signing Carlos Baleba was rapturously welcomed when he emerged as a substitute and his first contribution was to control the ball beautifully and send Fernandes away down the left.

But it was another substitute, Joshua Zirkzee, who impacted the game more significantly. The Dutch forward started to link play better and hold up the ball. I]t enabled United to get up the pitch more regularly and, with eighteen minutes left, they somehow took the lead.

Mbeumo is a reliable finisher and he took this one well. Turning on to his left foot in the penalty area, he shot low across Antonin Kinsky and into the far corner after taking a pass from Matheus Cunha. But with at least five Spurs players in the vicinity, he simply should not have been given that amount of time.

For Spurs, another disaster loomed. And things soon got an awful lot harder.

Bentancur’s lunging tackle at Fernandes was not clever but the headbutt he planted on Shaw after the United player arrived to shove him in the chest was just stupid. Briefly chaos reigned by the near touchline. Players, coaches. They were all in. When it settled down, Spurs were a man down and a goal down.

United just had to manage the game now. Given what we have seen from them this season, it was far from a given that they would. And, perhaps quite predictably, they didn’t.

Two minutes into eight minutes of time added, Sandro Tonali – by now playing at left-back – crossed to the far post for Solanke to head in.

It was a marvellous effort by a striker with something to prove. Why United defender Lisandro Martinez attempted to wrestle him instead of looking at the ball, maybe only he will know.

As his team celebrated in the corner, De Zerbi clutched a spare ball and appeared to try and eat it. The Italian may feel his luck is about to change. It should do. His team looked well coached here. By contrast, United continue to exist on a mixture of vague hope and sense of history. Neither will be good enough in the long term.

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