Tottenham surge back at Manchester United to stop rot in Mason’s first game

There were times during the first half when it felt as if Manchester United were toying with Tottenham, their 2-0 lead at half-time a poor reflection of a game that felt mainly about how the home team would react to what had happened at Newcastle on Sunday.

Spurs looked inhibited, the 6-1 hammering in their minds – along, perhaps, with all of the other craziness that had made them the crisis club of the moment. And yet as they stared into the abyss, they found strength. From somewhere.

It would be wrong to underplay the extent of United’s second-half collapse. Not for the first time under Erik ten Hag, they completely lost their way at the first sign of trouble. There were shades of the 2-2 Europa League quarter-final first-leg draw at home to Sevilla.

It looked as though fatigue was an issue here, along with a lack of quality off the bench. All of the players that Ten Hag introduced struggled, especially Anthony Martial.

But Spurs and their caretaker manager, Ryan Mason, deserved immense credit. They carried the fight to United from the restart, stepping high and playing the game on their terms, which has not been said for a while. They gave the home crowd, which continued to chant against the chairman, Daniel Levy, something to get behind.

Pedro Porro, a recent target for some of the frustration, made it 2-1 with a beautifully guided shot, United’s advantage courtesy of Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford suddenly not looking so secure.

Spurs would get an equaliser, an incredible tonic, and they deserved it. Harry Kane was always going to be a principal subplot given how heavily he has been linked with a move to United. “Harry Kane, we’ll see you in June,” the United fans sang during the first half.

Spurs saw him here