Sir Jim Ratcliffe wasn’t the only high profile guest at Old Trafford on Sunday to see Manchester United play Tottenham. The INEOS chief was sitting next to Sir Alex Ferguson for his first match since sealing his 25 percent stake in the club and taking charge of the football operation. Wayne Rooney and his whole family were also present at the Theatre of Dreams, as was teenage darts sensation Luke Littler.
But all the VIPs would all have been hugely disappointed with what they saw. Even though the game ended in a 2-2 draw, Tottenham played United off the park, battering the hosts in every metric apart from the scoreline.
They had 64% possession and 16 shots to United’s nine, while also winning more aerial duels, tackles and corners. Even though the Red Devils had a last-gasp chance to seal victory which Scott McTominay wasted, Tottenham always felt like the team more likely to go on and win. And that was despite Ange Postecoglou’s side missing a number of key players, including talisman Son Heung-min.
United played like they were the away team, and the drab atmosphere added to the feeling that they felt like strangers in their own stadium. And the worrying thing for Erik ten Hag is that is has been like this for most of the season.