This match was as dismal as last season’s Europa League final and in a routine league game nerves are no excuse
Never underestimate the haplessness of this Manchester United. Never underestimate the haplessness of this Tottenham Hotspur. Never underestimate the capacity of the Premier League to uncover drama in the least plausible situation. The embers of a game of little quality seemed cold and dead but somehow burst into glorious flame in the final six minutes plus stoppage time.
What it means is anybody’s guess, other than that these are two sides who remain deeply flawed. The shadow of Bilbao and last May’s Europa League final was unavoidable; in purely technical terms, that game was just as bad as the first 84 minutes of this one, but it at least had a sense of edge. Nervousness is permissible if there is something to be nervous about. Such scrappiness in a routine league meeting is far less explicable.
For the second week running, United took the lead, seemed comfortable, conceded twice and were left talking about their resilience and character after getting away with a 2-2 draw. But the truth is that this was a game they should have had wrapped up long before the Spurs fightback belatedly began. Not for the first time this season, their intensity dropped in the second half as Casemiro tired.
