Uninspired Manchester United settle for tame draw at White Hart Lane

Playing through sheets of snow, Manchester United had to settle for a point at White Hart Lane as they were punished for playing defensively and settling in their own third with a late equalizing goal. It was a game in which De Gea was by far the busier of the two ‘keepers, and produced a brilliant performance until he was undone in the dying minutes by Clint Dempsey. For his part, Robin van Persie continued his brilliant form, grabbing his 22^nd goal of the season for his new side, but saw it suffice only for a point, as their lead over City now stands at five points.

There was no spot in the starting eleven for the fit-again Rooney, who scored in midweek, with him joining the likes of Anderson on the bench. Instead, it was Welbeck who got the nod along with Kagawa, while Dempsey and Defoe started for the home side. Phil Jones was yet another unexpected name in the starting eleven for United, playing in the centre of midfield, while Cleverley played interchangeably with Kagawa on the left.

It was Tottenham who had the first clear cut opportunity of the game, when Aaron Lennon drew a save off De Gea with a low left footed drive, before Defoe’s weak attempt from a parry was gathered in by the Spaniard. It wouldn’t have counted even if it had gone in since the assistant had his flag raised for offside against the striker, who should have done better in any case. Instead, it was league leader Robin van Persie who struck the first blow in the 25^th minute, silencing the home fans. A good run from Welbeck cutting in from the left flank saw him pass the ball to the unmarked Cleverley on the right side of the pitch. The Englishman sent in a well-directed cross to the back post which was headed past Lloris by the Dutchman who bagged his 18^th league goal of the season, and gave the visitors a 1 – 0 lead.

The referee earned some of the crowd’s ire when he failed to spot a blatant tug on Dembele’s shirt by Kagawa, but United failed to make their counter attack count and Chris Foy escaped without a controversial moment. There were more decisions to make for the referee, especially when Defoe went down in the box under pressure from Carrick, but Spurs’ clearest opportunity came from a Bale effort just outside the box, which took a couple of deflections before being blocked away by De Gea’s legs. Thus, with few real efforts on target, the teams went in at half time with a slender lead against the name of the visitors.

Both teams started with much greater intent in the second half, Tottenham more so than United, and they nearly capitalized through Clint Dempsey. Great interplay between the American and former Fulham teammate Dembele saw Dempsey through on goal, but De Gea was once again the saviours for United, deflecting the effort for a corner with his right leg. Wayne Rooney finally made a return to Premier League action just after the hour mark, and could have had a penalty within a couple of minutes on the pitch. Chris Foy waved away the appeal though, much to Rooney’s and United’s displeasure, and to Steven Caulker’s relief.

Tottenham continued to press in search of an equaliser, but in spite of spending considerable amounts of time in and around the United box, failed to make their pressure count. United had a couple of opportunities on the break as well, with RvP coming closest to scoring, deflecting a cross straight at Lloris, but from an offside position. Soon after, Defoe got the better of Ferdinand with a burst of pace, but the veteran defender recovered extremely well to come back and block the effort on target to concede a corner. Bale also drew a deflection off Ferdinand for a corner, with a driving effort from outside the box, but this time it was much closer to the post, and almost beat De Gea as an own goal.

In the final minute of the three added minutes at the end of the game, Tottenham made United pay for sitting back and inviting pressure on themselves with a goal through Clint Dempsey. A sustained spell of pressure let Aaron Lennon roll the ball to Dempsey from inside the box, and he rolled it into the net to make it 1 – 1 and snatch a late draw for his side.

Result: Tottenham Hotspur (Clint Dempsey 90’+2) 1 – 1 Manchester United (Robin van Persie 25’)