After three weeks of build-up, three weeks to put things right, Manchester United served up, well, that.
Following the club’s joint-worst start to a Premier League season after five games, matchday six offered little in the way of improvement for Michael Carrick‘s men, having been held to a draw by ten-man Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday night.
It was abject. It was lifeless. It was yet another miserable night for those inside Old Trafford.
Spurs serve up another reality check for Man Utd
The Manchester City scandal has thrown up an easy excuse for Man United’s malaise in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, but let’s have it right, this long-standing decline has been self-inflicted.
Years of mismanagement and dire recruitment have left the club in the position that it’s in, once again bordering on crisis following yet another drab start to the season.
The squad assembled simply isn’t up to scratch, having been put under the cosh right from the off up against a Spurs side who sat rock bottom of the table heading into Saturday’s outing.
The hosts were fortunate not to have been behind at the break, in truth, with Senne Lammens first denying Dominic Solanke from point-blank range, before Mohammed Kudus lashed wide on the turn.
|
Man United |
Stat |
Tottenham |
|---|---|---|
|
50% |
Ball possession |
50% |
|
113.5 km |
Distance covered |
118.1 km |
|
0.77 |
Expected goals (xG) |
1.56 |
|
1 |
Big chances |
4 |
|
12 |
Total shots |
12 |
|
2 |
Goalkeeper saves |
3 |
|
110 |
Number of sprints |
129 |
|
4 |
Corner kicks |
4 |
|
13 |
Fouls |
16 |
|
464 |
Passes |
460 |
|
29 |
Tackles |
16 |
|
16 |
Free kicks |
13 |
|
4 |
Yellow cards |
3 |
In the second half, Bryan Mbeumo’s opener had arguably come against the run of play, albeit with United again wilting against ten men as that man Solanke made it 1-1 after Rodrigo Bentancur’s prior red card.
The scrutiny will again fall on Carrick in the dugout, but the United board have plenty to answer for, not least for the signing of Youri Tielemans.
Why Man Utd have already made a mistake with Tielemans signing
The cheers that met Carlos Baleba’s entrance were no doubt in part due to the exit of the man he was replacing, with the experienced Tielemans producing a woeful display against Roberto De Zerbi’s men.
The Belgian’s very first involvement set the tone for both his and United’s general performance, as he turned into trouble rather than playing the safe, simple pass.
Time and again, the former Aston Villa man was caught out in the centre of the park, the likes of Conor Gallagher having a field day as they pounced on the struggling 29-year-old.
He did make one vital recovery tackle to deny Gallagher inside the area, yet Tielemans was largely left chasing his tail on the night, having had his pocket picked so frequently.
The difference between himself and the aforementioned Baleba was night and day, in truth, with the Red Devils no doubt benefiting from the 22-year-old’s introduction, alongside the lively Joshua Zirkzee.
In his defence, Tielemans is still in the infancy of his United career. There are others who have been here far longer who deserve far greater scrutiny.
Not just Tielemans: Man Utd star looks finished at Old Trafford
As the saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
It feels that way with regard to United’s backline, with the same defensive unit that toiled under Erik ten Hag or Ruben Amorim still proving a problem for Carrick.
Four years ago, the Red Devils wilted away at Brentford with a centre-back pairing of Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez, with it a damning indictment of the recruitment team that in the year 2026, that is still the go-to partnership for Carrick.
Maguire might be the senior man, but it feels like Martinez who has run his race in a United shirt, the Argentine at the scene of the crime again for Solanke’s equaliser.
Rather than stepping up, the World Cup winner was caught wrestling with the Englishman, failing to prevent the Spurs striker from guiding the ball past a helpless Lammens.
In isolation, it might not feel like a dire mistake, yet Martinez has been a liability since all season, notably turning into trouble late on in the win over Ipswich Town.
It was also his bizarre intervention that gifted Fulham the opener prior to the international break, the number of errors now mounting up for the 28-year-old.
He’s a cult figure at Old Trafford, it must be said, but that feeling is starting to wane as United’s defence continues to open up against Premier League opposition.
There’s the odd incisive pass or crunching challenge, yet when it matters most, Martinez fails to do he basics, epitomising why Gary Neville described him and Argentine colleague, Cristian Romero, as the “best worst centre-backs in the world”.
Once again, United ended the night with the same back four that had come undone under Ten Hag at the Gtech all those years ago, a back four that has been assembled by four different managers.
It’s a squad and a backline in general that needs ripping up in Manchester, but Martinez – a man who reportedly earns £120k-per-week – is a key, consistent culprit.
With his contract set to expire next summer, his time at Old Trafford feels like it’s coming to a close.
