Playing Well In The First Round Only, MU Failed To Solve Revenge Against Tottenham

Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund failed to bring the team to beat Tottenham Hotspur. (X/@ManUtd)

JAKARTA - Manchester United only played well for the first 45 minutes so they failed to settle their grudge after a 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League England match at Old Trafford Stadium, Sunday, January 14 evening WIB. Manager Erik ten Hag deserved to be wary of Manchester United's poor record.

Ten Hag and goalkeeper Andre Onana failed to impress Sir Jim Radcliffe. When he first came to Old Trafford as owner of 25% of the club's shares, Radcliffe, who was accompanied by legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, could only hold back from being disappointed to see MU fail to win.

The richest man in Great Britain has repeatedly covered his face when Manchester United players failed to take advantage of opportunities. Ferguson was caught several times conveying information that Radcliffe seemed serious.

Yes, Ratcliffe really hopes that MU will return to the era of glory when he is still being handled by Ferguson. The impressive and offensive game, as the Ferguson team has shown, can actually be shown by Marcus Rashford et al for the first 45 minutes.

And what made fans excited with Radcliffe was none other than the Red Devils' first goal scored by Rasmus Hojlund. This Danish national team striker seemed to want to prove in front of Ratcliffe that he deserved to wear the MU uniform by removing the deadlock in goals.

The match, which was also watched directly by the legend of MU Wayne Rooney's front line, seemed to give him hope of winning. How not, the game has only been running for three minutes, Hojlund has been able to score goals.

However, MU's defense is still fragile and disappoints fans. As a result, MU failed to maintain the advantage because Richarlison was able to equalize in the 19th minute.

MU did get up quickly. They showed a passionful game like when they were still being handled by Ferguson.

As a result, Rashford gave the Red Devils another lead in the 40th minute. Hojlund played a role in the goal by providing an assist that Rashford completed. The score 2-1 for MU lasted until the end of the first half.

In the second half, MU's brilliant game was no longer visible. They experienced a decline in performance.

Predictably, Tottenham finally equalized again. The game has only been running for a minute, United's defense has been conceded by Rodrigo Bentancur. Score 2-2.

MU actually continues to play offensively in order to score goals. However, Tottenham has succeeded in strengthening the defense so that MU players cannot penetrate it.

The score did not change until the end of the match. MU also failed to resolve the grudge. In the first match, August 2023, they lost 2-0 when they visited Tottenham's headquarters. Ironic that in the Ferguson era, Tottenham lost more times when they met the red devil.

The poor results recorded by Ten Hag and Onana who chose not to immediately join the Cameroonian national team competing in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Even though Onana hopes to fortify MU's defense when they host Tottenham. Instead of scoring a clean sheet, Onana's goal conceded again twice.

This makes MU only win once from six Premier League matches. This result only makes MU go up one strip in the standings.

MU rose to seventh position with 32 points. However, the position of Champions League champions can be shifted by Brighton and Hove Albion who save one match. Brighton, who is ranked eighth, is only one point behind MU.

Meanwhile, Tottenham, who are ranked fifth, can only match their points with neighboring rivals, Arsenal.

The two North London clubs both have 40 points. But Tottenham lost the goal difference so they could not enter the Champions League zone.

Ten Hag himself can only entertain himself by praising the charming views of Hojlund and Rashford.

"They are really proactive and dynamic. Their combination also gives good results. Glad to be able to enjoy their performance," said Ten Hag.

"We did dominate for the first 35 minutes. We should also have won, but we failed. We have controlled the game and should have finished the opportunity," he said.