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Alan Shearer criticised Benjamin Sesko’s performance in Manchester United‘s 2-2 draw against Tottenham, claiming that the striker ‘had no clue what he wants to do’ in front of goal.

United signed Sesko in a £74 million deal from RB Leipzig in the summer transfer window but the 22-year-old has scored just two goals in 12 appearances so far this season.

Sesko was brought off the bench in the second half against Spurs and squandered an excellent chance to restore United’s lead but after being played through on goal he showed enough of the ball to allow Mickey van de Ven to make an excellent last-ditch tackle.

Shearer branded Sesko’s display against Spurs as ‘must do better’, although the striker may now be sidelined after suffering a knee injury in the closing stages of the game.

‘Sesko struggled again,’ Shearer said on BBC’s Match of the Day.

‘He’s only scored twice in his 12 appearances and he came on today with just over half hour to go and had two really, really good chances and should have scored, to be honest.

‘They worked it really well for him to get in. He’s either got to get his shot away early or he’s got to push that ball forward quicker. He’s not going to get that amount of time in the Premier League to work it back on his right foot.

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‘This one [Sesko’s second chance] is the bigger puzzle for me. I know he’s struggling for confidence but any centre-forward knows you cannot allow the centre-half to come back at you, you’ve got to get across Van de Ven.

‘By that time he should have a picture in his head of where the keeper is and what he wants to do. I don’t think he has a clue he wants to do because I don’t even think he even knows Van de Ven is there and chasing him.

‘I know he’s struggling with confidence but it’s a big ‘must do better’. No one likes to see him coming off injured and we hope his knee is okay but they are two chances you’d expect at that level that someone has to put away.’

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Dimitar Berbatov has questioned whether Benjamin Sesko was ready to play for Manchester United in their 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Saturday.

Bryan Mbeumo gave United the lead in the first half but Spurs appeared to be on course for only their second win at home in the Premier League this season as late goals from Mathys Tel and Richarlison put the hosts in front.

However, Matthijs de Ligt’s header in the sixth minute of injury time salvaged a draw for United.

Sesko, meanwhile, was brought on as a substitute in the 58th minute and had an excellent chance to restore United’s lead after he was played through on goal by Matheus Cunha.

But a superb last-ditch tackle from Micky van de Ven prevented United’s £74 million summer signing from getting a shot away on goal.

Sesko was then forced off with an injury in the closing stages of the game, leaving Ruben Amorim’s side with 10 men as all five of their substitutions had been made.

‘I want to be supportive, I sympathise with his situation,’ Berbatov told Premier League Productions when asked about Sesko.

‘Yes, he needed to do better, maybe take the ball more to his left foot so this way it eliminates the defender, but we cannot take away the tackle from Mickey van de Ven as well, great, great tackle.

‘Maybe that lack of confidence, playing minutes, it affects a player.

‘Then when you get injured out of it, it shows maybe you are not ready to step into the game at full speed.’

Former Spurs striker Jermain Defoe agreed with Berbatov’s verdict and stressed the importance of Sesko’s first touch after he was played through by Cunha.

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‘I said before the game, for a centre forward… when you’re rested or dropped, whatever it is, you’re not in the team and you’re disappointed, but make sure you’re ready to come on, because you can change the game, you get a moment or a chance and you can change the game,’ Defoe said.

‘I’m not saying it was an easy chance because it was a great tackle, but at the same time, when you go through it’s conviction.

‘The first touch always makes the goal, if you take the ball away from the defender then you can go and finish.

‘When he watches it back he’ll be disappointed, he didn’t actually have a shot at goal and he ends up getting injured but that’s why you have to be ready to come on and make an impact.’

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Ruben Amorim has shared an update on the fitness of Benjamin Sesko following Manchester United’s dramatic 2-2 draw at Tottenham.

United looked to be cruising to victory in north London on Saturday after Bryan Mbeumo headed his side in front but things unravelled late on.

Harry Maguire was forced to come off in the 72nd minute with what appeared to be a hamstring issue and not long after, out of nowhere, Mathys Tel equalised.

Substitute Sesko then went down after being challenged by Micky van de Ven and could not continue, leaving United with just 10 men in the final few minutes.

Richarlison looked to have snatched the three points for Spurs in injury time, but Matthijs de Ligt headed in from a corner to salvage a draw in the 96th minute.

Asked how the £71million striker was, Amorim said in his post-match press conference: ‘We have to check, he had something in his knee. We have to see.’

The head coach later added: ‘Because it’s the knee we never know [how serious the injury is]. We need Ben to be a better team.’

Amorim did not provide an update on Maguire, though the centre-back did return to the pitch after the final whistle to applaud the away supporters, but injury issues for two important players is not what Amorim needed just as his team had appeared to turn a corner.

Thankfully for United, the players now have the international break to recover before their next Premier League clash against Everton at Old Trafford on November 24.

Maguire was not called up to Thomas Tuchel’s England squad but Sesko has been called-up to play in Slovenia’s World Cup qualifiers against Kosovo and Sweden, and it remains to be seen whether he pulls out of international duty.

The draw means United are unbeaten in their last five games and, at the time of writing, are seventh in the Premier League table.

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‘During the game we felt like the three points were there to take home,’ Amorim added. ‘But then with everything that happened, Harry Maguire and Casemiro coming off and conceding two goals… we scored again and it’s a point.

‘When you cannot win you don’t lose, once again we did that. We have so much to grow as a team, because today was our day to win this game.

‘We need to look at ourselves, we were not pressing with the same intensity, we felt comfortable but we need to understand that if we had more bravery we kill the game. But sometimes this happens, you have a better first half than second.

‘We believe in our capacity to score goals until the last minute.’

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The offside flag goes up but the United forward did appear to be onside.

We’ve got just under ten minutes to go until kick-off here in north London and the atmosphere is building nicely.

Here’s a quick reminder of the two starting XIs for this one:

Spurs XI: Lammens; De Ligt, Maguire, Shaw; Mazraoui, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu; Mbeumo, Amad, Cunha.

Man Utd XI: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Palhinha, Sarr; Johnson, Simons, Kolo Muani, Richarlison.

Frank’s side currently have the fourth-worst home record in the league, and have only won three of their 19 games at home over the past year.

Can they start improving that record today?

Today’s fixture will see Thomas Frank and Bryan Mbeumo cross paths again for the first time since the pair left Brentford in the summer.

Speaking about the forward, who has made an impressive start to life at Old Trafford, Frank said: ‘To see him develop from being a young man, 19-year-old when he moved to London and Brentford and left six years later, going into one of the biggest clubs in the world with all that focus and the way he stepped up.

‘For me, looking from the outside, maybe a little bit biased, I think he’s been their best offensive player. He can create, he can score, he works hard, he’s a team player.

‘He’s the perfect example, in my opinion, for a player what I call about attitude, confident but humble. He’s a top player.

‘I think he will have fantastic success there. I hope that for him, not tomorrow, but in general I hope and wish him all the best.’

United’s striker has been benched today, but, speaking yesterday, Amorim said he had full faith in Sesko to prove his worth despite his early struggles.

‘‘What I mean is I understand how things are in football and he’s going to struggle. That is normal, he has no experience here,’ Amorim said.

‘Then the first impact when everyone says that you are so good, you are the next big thing and you hear that with Sesko and then you come to one club that is the hardest club. If you don’t perform every week, you are going to hear a lot of things from club legends, from pundits, from the media, and sometimes they are right.

‘When I started training with Ben, he has more potential than I was thinking [but] we need to understand how he likes to play and also to put in our ideas.

‘I’m quite relaxed with that. He is going to be our striker for the long term but he’s going to have these struggles and these bumps during the ride. That is a normal thing in football.’

Here’s what the Match of the Day pundit predicted for this game in his weekly Metro column:

Man United went to Nottingham Forest and got a decent point. I’ll go for a draw here which I don’t think will be a bad result for both clubs.

The result last week was a good result for Man United because I think Nottingham Forest will improve and be tough to beat under Sean Dyche. Again, you have to say if Man United are going to be making big improvements by getting results at tough grounds, this is going to be one of them.

You can imagine it’ll be another huge statement again. If they can go to Liverpool and win like they did then they can certainly go to Tottenham and win in a different way. That’s why I think it’s so difficult to predict. A month ago, I’d have said Spurs would definitely win but because of Man United’s recent results, they have to keep going and go one step further.

Prediction – Draw

Well, plenty of intriguing things in those lineups. Amorim has opted to drop Sesko to the bench, with Amad moving up to play in the front three alongside Cunha and Mbeumo.

Mazraoui comes in at wing-back to fill in for Amad, while Maguire and Dorgu also return in place of Yoro and Dalot.

Spurs, meanwhile, name both Richarlison and Kolo Muani in their lineup, with Bentancur dropping to the bench in place of Sarr. Spence is preferred to Udogie at left-back, while Kudus is not passed fit to feature in the matchday squad.

Manchester United take on Tottenham in a thrilling opener to the weekend’s Premier League this afternoon.

With a lighter fixture schedule playing its part, United have a clean bill of health with recent absentees Harry Maguire and Mason Mount returning last time out against Nottingham Forest.

Lisandro Martinez was desperate to return to action last week with Ruben Amorim opting to hold him back following his ACL injury suffered in February.

While Amorim will be eager to get him back into the side, he may opt to hold off until after the international break when Martinez will have another two full weeks of training under his belt.

Amorim’s only real dilemma might be whether to switch up his attack. Matheus Cunha was preferred through the middle against Liverpool but Benjamin Sesko has retained his place up top since then.

Tottenham’s injuries have eased somewhat over the last seven days, with captain Cristian Romero making his return off the bench against Chelsea.

Lucas Bergvall was a fresh casualty in that match, forced off in the first half with a concussion. Protocols followed by Spurs ensured he missed the midweek win over Copenhagen, also ruling him out against United today.

Mohamed Kudus missed out in the Champions League due to a knock with Frank describing him as ‘touch and go’ when he spoke to the press on Friday.

Djed Spence, involved in those incredible scenes alongside Micky van de Ven at the final whistle against Chelsea, missed training on Monday but was fit enough to come off the bench on Tuesday night.

Dominic Solanke meanwhile is not expected to return until after the November international break at the earliest with James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin, Kota Takai and Archie Gray unavailable.

After three wins on the spin, Ruben Amorim’s side settled for a point away to Nottingham Forest last time out, thanks to Amad Diallo’s stunning volley at the City Ground.

Tottenham meanwhile were wretched at home to Chelsea last Saturday, lifeless and uninspiring in front of their own fans again but a 4-0 victory over Copenhagen midweek will have helped ease tensions beginning to build in north London.

Predicted Man Utd XI to face Tottenham

Amorim named an unchanged United XI for the first time last weekend against Forest. With Leny Yoro perhaps more suited to deal with Tottenham’s attacking options, he could very well stick with the same side again.

Predicted Tottenham XI to face Man Utd

Xavi Simons has not sparkled in the Premier League yet but a bright performance in the Champions League coupled with Bergvall’s unavailability could hand him a chance to hurt United.

Tottenham vs Man Utd TV channel and kick-off time

Spurs vs United takes place on Saturday 8 November with kick-off scheduled for 12:30pm.

You can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1, with streaming also available through the Discovery+ app

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Thomas Frank has tipped one Manchester United star to enjoy ‘fantastic success’ at Old Trafford ahead of their match against his Tottenham side.

United travel to north London to take on Spurs on Saturday, with the two teams level on points in the Premier League.

Tottenham were woeful in the defeat to Chelsea last weekend but bounced back to thrash Copenhagen 4-0 in the Champions League in their last game.

Frank is yet to fully win over Spurs supporters but a statement win over the Red Devils, who are on a four-game unbeaten run, would go a long way to help his cause.

And the manager may well have an advantage for this clash, as he is well acquainted with the strengths and weaknesses of United’s man of the moment: Bryan Mbeumo.

Frank managed Mbeumo for six seasons at Brentford and attempted to sign him for Spurs last summer, but the forward had his heart set on a £71million move to Manchester.

His loss has been Ruben Amorim’s gain, with the Cameroon international recording five goals and an assist in his first 11 appearances for United and was recently named Premier League Player of the Month for October.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Frank said he was ‘not surprised’ by Mbeumo’s fast start: ‘When you work with a player for six years, you get a close relationship.

‘To see him develop from being a young man, 19-year-old when he moved to London and Brentford and left six years later, going into one of the biggest clubs in the world with all that focus and the way he stepped up.

‘For me, looking from the outside, maybe a little bit biased, I think he’s been their best offensive player. He can create, he can score, he works hard, he’s a team player.

‘He’s the perfect example, in my opinion, for a player what I call about attitude, confident but humble. He’s a top player.

‘I think he will have fantastic success there. I hope that for him, not tomorrow, but in general I hope and wish him all the best.’

As mentioned, United’s form has turned around recently, winning three matches of the bounce before last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest.

‘You can see it’s a United team that has got more confidence, definitely,’ Frank said of Saturday’s opposition.

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‘I think Ruben and his coaching staff have done a very good job. It’s clearly been a tough year for them and for him. I admire him a lot for that, to go through a very tricky spell with a lot of setbacks. To get through that with that focus is well done.

‘Right now they are in a moment where they have more or less every key player available and he’s found his team, played more or less the same team in the last four or five games.’

‘We know exactly what to expect from them. I think they have an incredibly dangerous front three. They’re starting to get more up to pace and we need to close them down. But on the flip side, make sure they run a little bit more backwards because we attack them.’

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Thomas Frank confirmed that Mohammed Kudus remains an injury doubt ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Manchester United.

Kudus has been a vital attacking figure for Tottenham so far this season, starting all ten league matches and providing five goal contributions.

However, an injury sustained in the defeat to Chelsea last weekend saw the Ghanaian miss the midweek victory against Copenhagen in the Champions League.

And Frank confirmed that Spurs will make a late call on the winger’s fitness ahead of he visit of United on Saturday.

‘Kudus is touch and go for tomorrow. Yeah, we’ll see,’ the Spurs boss confirmed in Friday’s pre-match press conference.

Elsewhere, though, there was positive news on defensive duo Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie, who both started in the midweek win after their respective spells out with injury.

And Frank confirmed that both had ‘responded well’ to the outing and woule be fit and available for selection at the weekend.

Up front, Dominic Solanke has been a missing figure for much of this season due to an ankle problem, which subsequently required surgery.

But the Englishman could make his long-awaited return after the international break, with Frank telling reporters: ‘The international break is the big decider there, two weeks to push him with the big steps.

‘He’s going forward. After the international break is what we’re aiming for. It’s important to get it right so he’s out there and can help the team. We need him back.’

The visit of United at the weekend gives Spurs the opportunity to put right the wrongs from last weekend’s dismal performance against London rivals Chelsea.

Frank’s side currently have the fourth-worst home record in the league, but the Dane is confident that his side have what it takes to get a positive result against an in-form United.

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‘I always believe when going into every game that we will put a good performance out there and do well,’ he added.

‘I think what gives me some confidence that we will put a good performance out there most of the performances we have put out there over the season, in general, have been good.

‘There has been some that have not been top. Two that run away from that were against Bournemouth and Chelsea at home, where the two teams did well and we, on the day, didn’t find the right solutions to match them.

‘But I’m very confident because I think I see the right layers, the right attitude in the players, the ability to want to improve. So it’s another big game coming up that we are ready for and looking forward. Get the fans behind us and we are ready to do everything we can to win the game.’

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Teddy Sheringham says Arsenal’s William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are not better than Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.

Saliba and Gabriel have established themselves as one of the most impressive centre-back partnerships on the planet in recent seasons.

Arsenal have conceded just three goals in 10 games this season but Sheringham has argued that Spurs’ central defenders are just as good.

Sheringham feels Van de Ven and Romero are in the ‘same bracket’ as Saliba and Gabriel – and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

‘Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are in the same category as Gabriel and William Saliba,’ the former Spurs forward told Oddspedia.

‘Everyone talks about the best Premier League centre-back pairing being Gabriel and Saliba.

‘You can also make a case for Liverpool’s defensive partnership: Virgil van Dijk is still a fantastic player, although there are still question marks around Ibrahima Konate.

‘But I would place Van de Ven and Romero in the same bracket as those two pairings.

‘They both complement each other very well; if one gets beaten, his partner is there to cover for him.

‘It’s unusual for a centre-back pairing at Spurs to be likened to the Premier League’s elite defenders, but they’re the bedrock of a stable team.

‘We saw last year how Spurs struggled without that pairing and it ultimately contributed to Ange Postecoglou’s downfall.

‘If you took both Van de Ven and Romero out of the team, it becomes very stressful for Spurs, so Thomas Frank will be glad they’re back in the team and showing their class.’

Van de Ven scored a stunning solo goal for Spurs on Tuesday night as the north London side beat FC Copenhagen 4-0 in the Champions League.

Picking up the ball on the edge of his own box, he charged through half ofthe Copenhagen team before bending a finish past the goalkeeper.

‘It seems like we had Lionel Messi turned into Micky van de Ven!’ Spurs head coach Thomas Frank said after the match.

Football pundit and ex-Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara told Sky Sports: ‘I think Van de Ven has more about him than Gabriel. I think Romero is on par Saliba.

‘There is not a centre half in the world that can do what Van de Ven did last night.

‘Gabriel cannot score that goal.’

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Tottenham left-back Destiny Udogie has been revealed as the Premier League player who was threatened at gunpoint by a football agent in London.

The 22-year-old, who played in Spurs’ 4-0 win against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday night, is said to have been targeted while walking with a friend along Cockfosters Parade, Barnet, in September.

The agent, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and is also under investigation over allegations of blackmail and making threats towards Udogie’s friend.

He has not been charged with an offence and was granted bail on September 9.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed they had been called to a street in north London at 11.14pm on September 6 after reports a man in his 20s had been threatened with a firearm.

‘Officers spoke to the victim and during the course of their investigation it was also reported another man in his 20s had also allegedly been blackmailed and threatened by the same individual. No injuries were reported in either incident,’ police said.

‘A 31-year-old man was arrested on Monday 8 September on suspicion of possession of firearms with intent, blackmail and driving without a license. He has been bailed while enquiries continue.’

A Tottenham spokesperson said: ‘We have been providing support for Destiny and his family since the incident and will continue to do so. Given this is a legal matter, we cannot comment any further.’

Udogie, who also plays for Italy’s national side, joined Spurs for an initial £15 million fee from Udinese in 2022.

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Gary Neville predicted where Chelsea will finish in the Premier League after they beat London rivals Tottenham.

Joao Pedro’s first-half goal was enough to earn Chelsea a narrow but deserved win over Spurs in north London on Saturday.

While only one goal separated the sides, Chelsea were by far the more superior team and had a number of chances to put the game to bed.

Tottenham, meanwhile, created very little as they slipped to a 12th defeat from their past 19 home games in the Premier League.

Despite a dismal performance – which was greeted by boos at the full-time whistle – Tottenham are still above Chelsea in the Premier League table.

But Neville fully expects Chelsea to finish above Spurs and says Enzo Maresca is blessed with a ‘better squad’ and ‘better players’ than Thomas Frank.

Asked if he believes Chelsea are on track for a top-four finish, Neville told NBC Sports: ‘The problem is the Premier League is so inconsistent this year.

‘When you look at the league table, every team is so inconsistent except for Arsenal. The fact of the matter is Spurs are still in front of Chelsea.

‘The Chelsea fans were celebrating in that far corner with the Chelsea players and the Tottenham players had left the pitch devastated after being booed off but it’s them who’s in front in the table.

‘It’s been a bit of a mad start to the league this year. I think Chelsea will have enough to get into that top-four because I think it’s going to be a bit crazy all season.’

Neville rates Chelsea above Tottenham and believes the Blues have a ‘far better squad’ than their London rivals.

‘I do, yeah,’ Neville added. ‘Chelsea have a better squad and better players.

‘Look at Tottenham’s players… Randal Kolo Muani, Xavi Simons and a few others haven’t settled in yet and don’t look like they’re at the level the Chelsea players are.

‘Chelsea have a far better squad than Tottenham and they should have because they’ve spent far more money.’

Stamford Bridge manager Maresca was pleased with his team’s performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

‘It was a good performance for sure,’ he said. ‘Against this team, in this stadium, at this moment when they look very good, we needed a performance like this.

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‘I think you have to be brave on and off the ball. Off the ball we were very good but then we created chances with the ball too.

‘In England, a 1-0 is not finished and anything can happen. Today we can score one or two more goals, then it would’ve been much more relaxed, but we are very happy with the 1-0 and a clean sheet.

‘We are very happy for ourselves and for the fans because it is a big derby.’

Chelsea return to Premier League action against managerless Wolves next weekend, while Tottenham will look to improve their home record against Manchester United.

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