Son Heung-min’s late equaliser completed a stirring Tottenham fightback from two goals down in their 2-2 draw against top-four rivals Manchester United on Thursday.
Just days after their 6-1 thrashing at
Newcastle, troubled Tottenham looked set for another heavy Premier League
defeat after United struck twice in the first half.
Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford were
United’s scorers, but in their first match under caretaker manager Ryan Mason,
Tottenham showed the kind of spirit that has been sorely lacking for much of
their turbulent campaign.
Pedro Porro’s goal early in the second half
gave them a lifeline and Son’s close-range strike capped the escape act in the
closing stages at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
While Tottenham’s comeback was something of a
morale boost during a difficult period, the result was still a blow to their
faint hopes of qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four finish.
Fifth-placed Tottenham are six points behind
fourth-placed United, who have two games in hand, and eight adrift of
third-placed Newcastle.
Tottenham, without a trophy since 2008, still
look likely to miss out on a lucrative Champions League berth, leaving them
facing an uncertain future as the pressure on chairman Daniel Levy mounts.
Levy took the brunt of the criticism from
angry fans on Thursday as the tension from a shambolic season boiled over.
There was mutiny in the north London air as
supporters gathered outside the stadium before kick-off to call for his
resignation.
Chants with the same anti-Levy sentiment
echoed throughout the game, while black balloons with the slogan ‘£NIC OUT’ in
reference to the ENIC company that owns Tottenham swirled around the stands as
the chairman stared glumly from his seat in the directors’ box.
Tottenham’s dismal campaign hit a new low on
Sunday when they were hammered at Newcastle after conceding five goals in the
first 21 minutes.
– Spurs fightback –
Interim boss Cristian Stellini was sacked
after that humiliation, making him the second manager to leave the club this
season after Antonio Conte’s exit by “mutual consent” in March.
Conte had departed after a disappointing
16-month reign that climaxed with his astonishing rant about Tottenham’s
“selfish” players and the losing culture at the club.
In contrast to Tottenham’s turmoil, United
look positively stable despite the ongoing bidding war to buy the club from the
Glazer family.
They won the League Cup earlier this season
and beat Brighton on penalties on Sunday to book an FA Cup final showdown with
Manchester City.
After conceding their first goal in the
Newcastle rout after just two minutes, it took Tottenham’s porous defence seven
minutes to succumb this time.
Rashford picked out Sancho on the left edge
of the penalty area and the forward was gifted time and space to curl a fine
finish into the far corner.
Sancho’s first goal in 14 appearances was
almost followed by a second when his shot was headed off the line by Ivan
Perisic.
Rashford had the measure of the Tottenham
defence and in the 44th minute he broke clear to net his 29th goal this season.
Sprinting onto Bruno Fernandes’ pass,
Rashford surged away from Eric Dier to guide a composed finish past Fraser
Forster from eight yards.
Tottenham put up a better fight in the second
half and Clement Lenglet headed against the bar from Perisic’s cross.
Porro, a much-maligned January signing from
Sporting Lisbon, reduced the deficit in the 56th minute when the right-back
blasted past David De Gea from just inside the area.
Fernandes hit the bar when it looked easier
to score after the United midfielder rampaged through the Tottenham defence.
Son wasted a glorious chance to equalise,
scuffing wide with just De Gea to beat, while Dier missed an equally good
headed opportunity.
Tottenham were pouring forward with renewed
belief and Son netted their deserved equaliser when he tapped in Kane’s cross
at the far post in the 79th minute.
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