Carrick sack unavoidable as Spurs make Man United crumble
Michael Carrick surely cannot hope to carry on as Manchester United manager much longer after Spurs forced their latest surrender.
Roberto De Zerbi should be safe for now, mind.
‘It was difficult to watch the majority of those 90 minutes and not feel as though the poison has already set in at both clubs, with a change in coach the only possible instant antidote.’
Five years to the month and too many managers later to immediately recall, the sentiment remained the same: a draw was the least satisfactory but most predictable outcome from the latest El Sackico between two teams who over the last few seasons have systematically and seemingly deliberately dispensed with their collective knowledge of how to win games of association football.
Spurs were comfortably the better team for an hour, failed to take advantage of that superiority, went behind to an eminently avoidable goal and then capitulated to the extent that a substitute was sent off for a dreadful tackle and subsequent headbutt 12 minutes after coming on.
It was the archetypal Spurs defeat, and De Zerbi would have struggled to survive it. But that late show of resilience and character to force a draw felt like a turning point.
While the expectation with this club and manager is that a brick wall is around that corner in this infernal maze, Spurs finally have some positive momentum (to waste against Coventry on Monday).
This game contained multiple segments which could ironically effortlessly have challenged Gary Neville’s “worst 15 minutes” assertion against Fulham. Manchester United’s lack of intensity and physicality was exposed especially painfully early on as Spurs controlled the opening stages.
Spurs had almost two-thirds possession and five unanswered shots in the opening 25 minutes, completing 91 per cent of their passes to the hosts’ 76 per cent. United eventually settled somewhat but were still deeply uninspiring until a triple substitution on the hour sparked some life into them.
Yet even with Bryan Mbeumo’s well-taken goal and Rodrigo Bentancur’s red card, they dropped points at home against ten men for the second time in three games, conceded a stoppage-time equaliser for the second time in six games and continued this season’s trend of playing without direction, impetus or energy.
United started dreadfully, finished pitifully and weren’t much better in between.
This was not only Manchester United’s first game after an elongated international break, but Manchester United’s first game since their bitter rivals were found guilty of almost a decade’s worth of systemic cheating. The supporters marked that occasion in fine combative, forceful voice and might have expected that intensity and passion to be transmitted onto the pitch.
Within 20 minutes they were booing Senne Lammens, who had already been caught twice on the ball, going long. There were jeers at half and full time. United didn’t have a shot for the first half an hour. The enthusiasm and volume from the stands could have been channelled properly by the players but was instead actively wasted.
At one point midway through the first half, Matheus Cunha tried to provoke some more noise from a less interested, more restless crowd, downtrodden within 20 or so minutes of having to watch such a miserable, identity-less team. Manchester United had that fan roar from the very start and failed to even try channelling it.
The problem, as ever, was converting those moments into something more meaningful. Those aforementioned Lammens panics, a Mohammed Kudus shot narrowly wide of the post and Leny Yoro’s last-man slide tackle were the highlights of Spurs’ latest burst out of the blocks, but their lack of final-third quality or fortune at the right junctures means they cannot capitalise.
The earliest Premier League goal Spurs have scored in the Premier League this season came in the 86th minute. That does seem sub-optimal.
Those running stats do not tell the whole story and can be used as a decontextualised stick with which to beat United and their coaches. But they do feel instructive when watching this team, as does Carrick’s stance on them.
Diogo Dalot brought more width and attacking impetus, Joshua Zirkzee had some nice touches and Carlos Baleba impressed on his debut.
Soon after their introduction, Mbeumo scored after good work from Cunha in the build up.
But taking off Yoro felt questionable at the time and no less a mistake in hindsight. United’s retooling as a right-back of a player who made his France debut at centre-half this month is bizarre. He could have been shifted across and either of the subpar Harry Maguire or Lisandro Martinez taken off instead.
A rare foray forward from the depleted visitors in stoppage time culminated in Sandro Tonali’s floated cross into a box occupied by six red and three dark navy shirts. Martinez started goal-side with the play in front of him, and ended up being spun around with a front-row seat to watch the ball bounce past Lammens and over the line.
It was remarkably weak and hilariously non-butcherlike defending. Good job those big brains at INEOS know that squads should be restructured specifically only in one position every year, with no players ever sold.
As captain for the day, he needed that. Not to keep his position in a team with precisely no other strikers, but to numb the pain of his two poor earlier misses and prove that he can at least vaguely pretend to carry the mantle.
While Solanke’s all-round play was good, those misses would have defined his performance had he not scored late on.
The first summed up his lack of confidence. Through against Lammens after the United keeper’s poor kick, Solanke picked the side Maguire had inhabited on the line behind his keeper instead of the other vacated corner of the goal. Then from Savio’s cross early in the second half, Solanke lofted his effort over the bar after again bullying Martinez.
A first Premier League goal since March should help.
His final ball is endearingly erratic. A couple of his low crosses into Solanke were exceptional, but one moment summed Savio up best: after bringing down a Destiny Udogie diag with a sumptuous first touch, the Brazilian beat his man, got to the byline and then gloriously overhit his cross.
Savio makes things happen. Often not especially good things at the end, and sometimes entirely by accident. But he makes things happen.
With the atmosphere as it was, it seemed like there were only two possible scenarios: he would ride that wave of emotion and inspire the hosts to victory; or he would let it consume him, get carried away, throw his arms about a bit and spark a few days’ worth of narrative about whether he is a suitable Manchester United captain.
What transpired was neither. Fernandes barely registered as a factor in the game at all. That Athletic stat about the 23 minutes in this game being the longest he has ever waited to complete a pass in a Premier League game is stark.
Luke Shaw avoided being caught in the crossfire of that one, only to be faced with the most obvious choice of rock in recorded human history as Bentancur showed his hand early with an extraordinarily telegraphed scissors tackle.
Shaw’s reaction was understandable, pushing Bentancur before the Uruguayan rose to his feet and nudged his head into the defender’s for a red card as silly as it was inevitable.
Seven minutes after Bentancur came on for the impressive Lucas Bergvall at 0-0, Spurs conceded. Five minutes after that, he was sent off. It should be remembered as one of the worst cameos in Premier League history – and could temporarily boost Mateus Fernandes in the pecking order – but of course De Zerbi “kissed” him and “said thanks” for forcing Spurs to react.
His lack of pressure allowed Mbeumo enough space to turn, shoot and score, and rarely does he instil confidence unless passing through opposition lines. It’s like Cristian Romero never left.
