Dominic Solanke scored in stoppage time to salvage a point for 10-man Tottenham as they snatched a draw against Manchester United in a feisty encounter at Old Trafford.
It looked as if United were about to pile more misery on the visitors following their pitiful start to the Premier League season when Bryan Mbeumo broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute.
Things went from bad to worse for Spurs when Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off five minutes later for headbutting Luke Shaw, who had shoved him over after a reckless challenge from the Uruguay midfielder, according the BBC sports.
But Solanke, who was captaining Tottenham for the first time, nodded Sandro Tonali’s cross into the back of the net in the second minute of added time to lift Spurs off the bottom of the table.
Read more: Henderson scores twice on home debut as Chelsea thump Bournemouth 5-1
Roberto de Zerbi’s side remain winless, however, and stay in the relegation zone – above both Fulham and Coventry City – with just three points from the first six games.
United have suffered their own shaky start to the campaign with just one victory and a sluggish first-half performance was met with boos by the home fans on Saturday.
They were much improved after the break, but jeers once again echoed around Old Trafford at full-time. This was the second successive league game they have dropped points against a team that were reduced to 10 men – following their 1-0 derby defeat by Manchester City last month.
Like so many of their matches so far this season, Tottenham were the better team to start with and penned United in with their high press and quick tempo.
But once again they lacked conviction in front of goal and were left to rue missed early chances, with Solanke, Mohammed Kudus and Conor Gallagher all failing to find the back of the net in the opening 45 minutes.
For the 18th time in 2026, Spurs were unable to score in the first half of a Premier League game and they could not assert the same level of control after the break as United responded.
They were ultimately punished when Mbeumo effortlessly strode past Jan Paul van Hecke and angled a strike past Antonin Kinsky and into the bottom right corner.
Bentancur’s two-footed challenge on Shaw – coming straight after a wild sliding tackle from van Hecke – perhaps warranted a red card on its own, but referee Stuart Atwell was left with no choice but to send him off when he planted his head towards the England left-back’s face.
Solanke’s glancing header won’t stop the growing scrutiny on Spurs boss De Zerbi, who has won just four of his 15 games in charge, but it does at least show the team have a fighting spirit as they try to haul themselves up the table.
WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.













Comments