28 April 2023 , 04:00
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Manchester United surrendered two points against a lacklustre Tottenham on Thursday night after throwing away a two-goal lead in north London.
Jadon Sancho opened the scoring for the Red Devils after cutting in from the left and bending a shot around Fraser Forster with his right foot before Marcus Rashford - who set up his compatriot for United's opener - fired home the away side's second after he was picked out with a wonderful Bruno Fernandes pass.
Spurs were looking for a response to their 6-1 hammering at the hands of Newcastle last time out - a result that cost Cristian Stellini his job as temporary boss - but Ryan Mason was unable to inspire much from his confidence-lacking side in the opening 45 minutes.
United boss Erik ten Hag has had to deal with some challenging injury problems in recent weeks with regular centre-backs Lisandro Martinez and Rafael Varane out of action.
Harry Maguire picked up a knock in training ahead of the Spurs game, meaning Ten Hag had to get creative and start Luke Shaw - who played in the position earlier in the season - at centre-back.
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He also had to play Diogo Dalot in an unfamiliar left-back position in place of Shaw.
Shaw was partnered with Victor Lindelof but looked the better player at the back as he swept up on both the left and the right and brought a typical sense of calm to the defence.
Marcus Rashford was on the scoresheet for Manchester United (Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)Behind him, David de Gea hasn't looked himself in recent weeks and had a game to forget as United were dumped out of the Europa League by Sevilla last week.
But against Spurs, the Spaniard looked assured and made a handful of important saves at crucial points in the match - particularly in the first half - to keep the balance in the favour of United.
There was little he could do for the goals he conceded after the break and overall had a solid game for the Red Devils.
Rashford is having the season of his career and netted his 29th goal of the campaign to double the Red Devils' advantage against Tottenham after assisting Sancho.
The left-footed thunderbolt was also Rashford's 50th career away goal and shows just how important the Englishman is to Ten Hag's revolution and the progression of this United side.
Spurs interim boss Mason discovered just how hard it's going to be finishing on a high this season as his side were second-best for large spells against United.
But Harry Kane, who was quiet in the first half as he listened to United fans serenade him with a chorus of "See you in June", made the difference after the break.
The England international was very influential in everything Spurs did going forward and picked out Son Heung-min for the all-important equaliser on 79 minutes.
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Son Heung-min scored a tap-in for Tottenham (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)On the other hand, Eric Dier failed to impress and made life far too easy for Rashford and co. by backing off whenever United launched an attack instead of pushing the players out wide.
He backed off so much before United's second that Rashford merely used him as a reference point in which to curl his shot around and into the back of the net.
Son was also nowhere to be seen for large spells of the game and provided the home side with very little going forward.
His moment of the night came on 66 minutes when he was faced with a scoreable chance, but the forward fired wide.
He eventually netted the equaliser but even scuffed that shot, which was a tap-in that Kane put on a plate for him.
United largely played well but Fred was the weak link on the night when he came off the bench and failed to get a foothold on the game.
The Brazilian midfielder gave the ball away too often and helped change the tempo in Tottenham's favour at a crucial time.