By the time Sandro Tonali’s cross reached Lisandro Martinez, he had his back to the ball. So distracted was the Manchester United defender in winning his wrestling match with Domnic Solanke that he had forgotten the most important thing of all.
Having outmuscled the smaller Martinez, the Tottenham striker got enough on his header to send it creeping inside Senne Lammens’ left-hand post as Spurs snatched an injury-time equaliser at Old Trafford.
It’s not like the Argentine hadn’t been warned either. At the start of the second half, he lost another one-sided grapple with Solanke who should have scored from close-range.
Three weeks’ earlier, in United’s previous game before the international break, Martinez was guilty of a hapless own-goal before Michael Carrick’s side scored a late equaliser of their own at Craven Cottage.
Martinez is by no means the only reason United have made their worst start at this stage of a league season in 40 years. Far from it. The problems at this club reach far and deep.
But he is typical of the senior players at United who, for one reason or another, are failing Carrick this season after helping their head coach get the job in the first place. The Dependables have now become, well, rather undependable.
Lisandro Martinez’s performances are indicative of United’s stars lacking fight for Carrick
Start in goal, where the previously unflappable Lammens appears to have lost his composure since returning from the World Cup, and work your way through this United team. It is littered with men in red playing within themselves.
Carrick insisted after Saturday’s 1-1 draw that he doesn’t feel let down by them, but he would not be the first United boss to pay the price for players who either cannot or will not stand up and be counted.
Ole Gunnar Solskajer used to privately confide to his coaching staff – including Carrick – that ‘this lot will get me sacked’ and very little seems to have changed despite the volume of managers and players who have passed through Old Trafford since then. Erik ten Hag failed to fix the ‘no good culture’ at the club and so did his successor Ruben Amorim.
Of course, Carrick must take his fair share of the blame as well. Losing to Manchester City after his opponents went down to 10 men a quarter of the way into the Old Trafford derby last month was bad enough. Conceding an injury-time equaliser to Tottenham after a winless team sitting bottom of the table had a man sent off was downright careless.
It raises questions about Carrick’s game management that cannot be masked by a shocking VAR call in City’s favour or Martinez losing his bearings against Spurs when it mattered most. Understandably questions are being asked over whether he is the right man for the job.
The United boss is suffering what undid his predecessors at Old Trafford
But there is only so much Carrick can control. Three weeks after his players were shamed by their running stats at Fulham, they failed to match Tottenham’s physicality and hunger for much of this game. Roberto De Zerbi may be worse off than Carrick on paper, but only one of them left Old Trafford on Saturday night with any cause for optimism.
This week, United travel to Atletico Madrid and Leeds. The Metropolitano and Elland Road are a test for even the most resilient of teams. In Martinez’s defence, he is exactly the kind of character you need for such assignments.
Carrick desperately needs the rest of his players to rise to the challenge in a way that has proved beyond them this season. It’s time for them to show some backbone. His job may depend on it.
Bring back Casemiro!
Another game, another moment for the United hierarchy to glance back at the transfer window and wonder if they should have done things differently.
Carlos Baleba made an encouraging debut off the bench in the draw with Tottenham, but it’s never a good look when your biggest summer signing isn’t fit to play until mid-October.
Elsewhere, Carrick started with centre-back Leny Yoro at right-back and right-winger Bryan Mbeumo at centre-forward in the continued absence of Benjamin Sesko. Mbeumo scored but only after reverting to the right flank when Joshua Zirkzee replaced Amad Diallo.
Who knows when Sesko will be available again, but United were well aware of the shin injury that has limited the Slovenian to just two starts since the beginning of May (including pre-season) and yet chose not to sign a striker when they were busy rebuilding their midfield.
Youri Tielemans looked well off the pace against Spurs and some will be questioning the decision to let Casemiro go
Of the players brought in, Baleba is almost ready for a first start, but Youri Tielemans looked well off the pace against Tottenham. The 29-year-old made way for his new teammate as one of three changes just before the hour mark.
And what of Andrey Santos? The Brazilian hasn’t started in the Premier League since the embarrassing opening-day defeat at Hull, and didn’t make it off the bench against Spurs even though, in theory, he would have been well suited to helping United defend a one-goal lead.
Is United’s midfield any better for all that wheeling and dealing in the summer? Bring back Casemiro!
How Spurs became United’s bogey team
Nearly 40 years after Sir Alex Ferguson was parachuted into Old Trafford to salvage United’s season the last time the club’s first six games went any worse than this, he arrived at the old place on Saturday using a walking stick and with his left foot still in a protective boot.
Following the publication on Thursday of his latest book Games of My Life, United’s draw with Tottenham won’t even have been the best game Ferguson has seen this week.
Spurs used to be Ferguson’s home banker. He won 39 of 61 meetings with them in all competitions, a better record than against any other team.
‘Lads, it’s Tottenham,’ he famously said to his players before a game against the North Londoners, as if no other words were needed.
Given that United have now only won once in the last 10 matches between the two clubs – including the 2024-25 season when Spurs won the Europa League final and knocked them out of the Carabao Cup – the boot appears to be on the other foot.
