In front of new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Tottenham denied Manchester United a victory in a thrilling Premier League match by coming back from behind twice.
Ratcliffe, who was “very excited” to be attending his first game since a potential 25% purchase of his home club was confirmed on Christmas Eve, expressed his excitement in advance.
And he witnessed Rasmus Hojlund give United the lead in the third minute.
Ratcliffe’s pre-game claim that United “normally do well against Spurs” was not entirely supported by the results, though.
For the visitors, who were without three players—including captain Son Heung-min—because to their absence from the Asian Cup due to South Korea, Brazilian striker Richarlison tied the score with his sixth goal in as many Premier League games.
Prior to halftime, Marcus Rashford gave the home team the lead. However, a minute into the second half, Rodrigo Bentancur scored his first goal since April, when he had been recovering from an ankle issue and cruciate knee ligament injury.
Ratcliffe, who was seated next Sir Alex Ferguson in the directors’ box, would have learned a lot throughout the remainder of the match. With just nine shots compared to Tottenham’s sixteen, and only three of the visitors’ six on goal, United had less than 40% of the play.
Spurs could not go past rivals Arsenal and into the top four with a draw. However, it did enable them to hold onto an eight-point lead over their hosts, who might fall to tenth before their next game on February 1 against Wolves.