Man Utd 2-2 Tottenham: Player ratings as Ratcliffe watches first-half thriller at Old Trafford

Manchester United’s new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe was at Old Trafford to see his investment duke out a 2-2 Premier League draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.

Despite being outplayed for large swathes of a wild first half, United twice took the lead through their rejuvenated frontline of Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford. Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur equalised for the visitors on either side of half-time before a tepid conclusion.

A draw left Tottenham outside the top four and nudged United into seventh place.

How the game unfolded

Hojlund had needed more than 1,000 minutes to score his first Premier League goal but found the net within 200 seconds of his next appearance at Old Trafford. United’s saviour against Aston Villa on Boxing Day broke the deadlock on Sunday, battering the ball past Guglielmo Vicario at the end of a swift forward thrust.

Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs are geared towards attack whatever the game state, leaving the door open for United in transition but providing a threat of their own.

Richarlison, Tottenham’s newly in-form forward, climbed above a grounded gaggle of red shirts inside United’s six-yard box to guide a 19th-minute corner inside the far post. Spurs had threatened to score but when do they not? This was the 33rd consecutive league match in which Tottenham have scored, the longest run in the club’s history.

Just as Tottenham threatened to stroll into the half-time interval in the ascendancy, United were back in front. Marcus Rashford had the beating of Pedro Porro from the first whistle and stamped his authority all over the duel in the 40th minute. Exchanging passes with Hojlund inside Tottenham’s box, Rashford shrugged off Porro before picking out the bottom corner.

Cristian Romero came within the width of the crossbar of equalising for Spurs on the cusp of half-time, crashing a header from another corner against the woodwork, but sparked the move for Tottenham’s second equaliser within a minute of the restart.

United somehow manage to appear hopelessly unorganised even when the entire back four is in place. Rodrigo Bentancur had plenty of room to saunter into the penalty area and fire through Andre Onana, adding another loop to a rollercoaster opening 46 minutes.

The ride levelled out over the remainder of the second half as Spurs took control of possession without offering the penetration of earlier in the contest. Scott McTominay steered a late header over the bar, denying the onlooking Ratcliffe one last thrill on his first visit to Old Trafford since his investment.

GK: Andre Onana – 4/10 – Barely offered a whisper of authority when the ball travelled into United’s box at head height.

RB: Diogo Dalot – 6/10 – Stayed calm in possession and fared well against Timo Werner.

CB: Jonny Evans – 5/10 – Stepped into Tottenham’s half to win the ball ahead of Rashford’s well-taken goal but lacked the same authority in the defensive third.

CB: Raphael Varane – 4/10 – United’s holographic backline cannot be solely blamed on Varane but he didn’t provide much rigidity.

LB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 5/10 – Lining up in a very unfamiliar left-back role, Wan-Bissaka didn’t look entirely out of place; he brought his same inadequacies in possession over from the right flank.

CM: Kobbie Mainoo – 5/10 – Grew into the game but largely lacked his usual composure on the ball in a furious midfield battle.

CM: Christian Eriksen – 3/10 – Constantly caught in two minds when pressing Tottenham’s rotating carousel of midfielders, utterly unsure of who to pick up and how far to follow them.

AM: Bruno Fernandes – 5/10 – Failed to exert a significant influence over proceedings.

RW: Alejandro Garnacho – 5/10 – Skirted around the fringes of the contest.

ST: Rasmus Hojlund – 7/10 – Took the game’s first sniff of goal exceptionally well and linked up fluently with Rashford.

LW: Marcus Rashford – 8/10 – Playing with renewed confidence, Rashford repeatedly ran at and past Porro.

Substitutes

SUB: Scott McTominay (58′ for Eriksen) – 5/10

SUB: Lisandro Martinez (63′ for Evans) – 5/10

SUB: Antony (88′ for Rashford) – N/A

Subs not used: Tom Heaton (GK), Altay Bayindir (GK), Willy Kambwala, Casemiro, Omari Forson, Facundo Pellistri

Manager

Erik ten Hag – 4/10 – The Dutchman’s dogmatic insistence on man-marking put his side on the back foot throughout.

GK: Guglielmo Vicario – 5/10 – Could scarcely be blamed for United’s razor-sharp finishes.

RB: Pedro Porro – 6/10 – A decidedly mixed display. Firmly bested in his own half but kept United’s backline on edge with a volley of dangerous set pieces.

CB: Cristian Romero – 7/10 – Commanding at the back and a threat in United’s box.

CB: Micky van de Ven – 5/10 – After so long on the sidelines, some rust was inevitable, with Van de Ven somewhat ponderous in possession.

LB: Destiny Udogie – 5/10 – Almost turned the ball into his own net in the first half – inadvertently striking his own post – with a display that encapsulated the wild nature of this contest.

CM: Rodrigo Bentancur – 7/10 – Took his goal superbly, breaking forward from Tottenham’s fluid midfield.

CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 5/10 – Starting at the base of midfield, Hojbjerg was unsettled by the constant demands to swap positions with his teammates.

CM: Oliver Skipp – 6/10 – Peppered the contest with some penetrative – and invariably accurate – passes.

RW: Brennan Johnson – 4/10 – Had the pace to beat Wan-Bissaka – which not many do – but lacked the clarity of thought to take advantage of those promising positions.

ST: Richarlison – 7/10 – Extended his strong scoring form and battled valiantly off the ball.

LW: Timo Werner – 5/10 – ‘Turbo Timo’ was timid on his Tottenham debut, racked with reticence and desperately reluctant to attempt anything remotely adventurous.

Substitutes

SUB: Bryan Gil (80′ for Werner) – 5/10

SUB: Radu Dragusin (85′ for Skipp) – N/A

SUB: Emerson Royal (89′ for Van de Ven) – N/A

Subs not used: Fraser Forster (GK), Brandon Austin, Alfie Dorrington, Yago Santiago, Jamie Donley

Manager

Ange Postecoglou – 6/10 – Spurs dominated the ball, territory and chances but were undone by two moments of high-spec forward thrust which has often eluded the hosts.

Player of the match – Marcus Rashford (Man Utd)

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