Michael Carrick's decisive triple substitution appeared to have turned the tide at Old Trafford, but Dominic Solanke's stoppage-time equaliser rescued a point for ten-man Tottenham, leaving the United manager under mounting pressure.
Midway through a first half dominated by a Spurs side still searching for their first Premier League win of the season, Carrick stomped away from his technical area in animated anguish. His side reached half-time level partly through fortune and partly through Tottenham's lack of cutting edge in the final third.
Carrick's bold response
It was one of the more significant half-times of Carrick's tenure as United manager. When his team failed to respond adequately to his instructions, he made three substitutions before the hour mark.
The changes paid off. Joshua Zirkzee's introduction, initially met with little enthusiasm, injected energy and adventure that altered the contest's direction. Although he was not directly involved in Bryan Mbeumo's goal that put United ahead, he changed the mood of the performance.
Tottenham were pushed onto the back foot, and Rodrigo Bentancur, only recently introduced as a substitute, lost his composure and caught Luke Shaw, earning a red card.
Solanke strikes late
Despite the numerical advantage, United could not see the game out. Solanke finally found the space between the posts, and ten-man Spurs left Carrick in anguish once more.
There is no hiding place for Carrick this season, with a deep squad at his disposal. Carlos Baleba, a £70million central midfielder, was restricted to the bench, as was Marcus Rashford, the £350,000-a-week forward.
United made a remarkably slow start, and Spurs might have been out of sight before 20 minutes had elapsed had they possessed any scoring instinct. The home crowd were jeering before the half-hour mark, with United beaten to every 50-50 challenge in the opening period.
Spurs' familiar failings
Tottenham's inability to convert their superiority into goals was equally striking. Solanke was lacking confidence before his late equaliser, and the team's lack of penalty-area conviction offered hope to a United side struggling for rhythm.
The familiar Spurs script played out once more: attractive play, failure to score, concession and collapse. When Solanke missed another clear chance, the travelling fans feared the inevitable.
It was not as though Spurs' failure to take the lead was due to stellar defensive work from United. Despite their dominance under Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham rarely look like scoring even during lengthy spells of possession.
They did briefly implode, giving Mbeumo too much time to score and seeing Bentancur lose his head. After the melee, Carrick looked serene again - until Solanke found a way to score. This result and performance put the United manager under immediate pressure.
