United Review | Tottenham Hotspur away

Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 2 Manchester United

De Ligt's dramatic late header makes sure we leave North London with a point

Author | Liam C

We stretched our unbeaten run to five matches after Matthijs de Ligt’s header deep into injury time earned a spirited point away at Tottenham Hotspur.

Before a frantic finale, it looked as though we were on course for a brilliant victory after Bryan Mbeumo continued his impressive form by scoring his fifth goal of the season.

However, late goals from Mathys Tel and Richarlison turned the contest on its head, leaving us facing what looked to be a crushing defeat.

But our determination once again came to the fore. With everyone, including goalkeeper Senne Lammens, pushed forward for a corner, de Ligt found space in the box to glance home in the sixth minute of stoppage time, sending the travelling Reds behind the goal into raptures.

Closer analysis of a dramatic afternoon

United made a nervy start as Matthijs de Ligt’s backpass was miskicked by Senne Lammens and rolled out for an early corner.

It took 15 minutes for the first real chance to arrive, and it went the way of the hosts. Brennan Johnson whipped in a dangerous cross towards Richarlison, who should have done much better with his header.

We may have failed to register a shot in the opening quarter of an hour for the first time this Premier League season, but the tempo quickly lifted.

First, Matheus Cunha was denied by Pape Matar Sarr before more good work from our forward had the United fans behind the goal appealing for a penalty. It wasn’t given, but moments later, the breakthrough came.

Bryan Mbeumo took full advantage of a superb Amad cross, slipping between Johnson and Pedro Porro to steer a perfect header into the far corner.

Mbeumo simply loves facing Spurs. He has now been involved in six goals across his last five league games against Tottenham, and his fifth Premier League goal for Ruben’s Reds continued his outstanding start to life in Manchester.

The first half was defined by one header taken and one missed, and we went into the break ahead.

Spurs, unbeaten in their four league matches following midweek European fixtures this season, came out firing after the restart.

Lammens produced two excellent stops, first reacting sharply to Cristian Romero’s flick and then blocking Joao Palhinha’s effort.

Ruben Amorim looked to regain control with a tactical switch, introducing Benjamin Sesko for Noussair Mazraoui. Amad dropped to wing-back as we were forced to dig in deeper.

Johnson, who scored the only goal in May’s Europa League final between these sides, had the ball in the net again, but this time the flag was up with the Welshman drifting offside.

Our adjustments looked to have quelled Spurs’ threat, with their early second-half pressure contained. But from nowhere, the game turned.

Mathys Tel levelled with the help of a deflection, leaving de Ligt unfortunate as the French substitute’s strike flew beyond Lammens.

Head and shoulders above the rest.

Matthijs caps his fantastic recent form with a towering header 👊 pic.twitter.com/0rWEpjs7KK

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 8, 2025

Moments later, Micky van de Ven made a brilliant block to deny Sesko, but the striker pulled up injured soon after, leaving us to finish the game with ten men.

That proved costly. Another Tottenham substitute, Wilson Odobert, struck from the edge of the area, his shot glancing off Richarlison’s head and finding the corner.

It looked like defeat from the jaws of victory, but United never give up.

When Bruno Fernandes sent in a deep corner, de Ligt found space at the back post and powered his header home, sending the travelling Reds into wild celebration. It was a fully deserved point after a performance full of fight and belief.