Tottenham and Manchester United both scored stoppage-time goals in a wild finish to their 2-2 draw in the Premier League on Saturday.
Just when it looked like Richarlison’s glancing header in the first minute of added-on time had sealed victory for Tottenham, United equalized with a header of its own from Matthijs de Ligt five minutes later.
United extended its unbeaten streak in the league to five games — three wins followed by two away draws — for its best run in the one-year tenure of Ruben Amorim, who is clearly benefitting from having more time to prepare for games because of no European involvement this season.
Tottenham has only won one of its six homes games so far, yet showed commendable resilience to fight back from conceding a 32nd-minute goal to Bryan Mbeumo — his fifth of the campaign.
The hosts dominated the second half and grabbed an equalizer in the 84th through substitute Mathys Tel’s shot that deflected in off De Ligt. Tel had only been on the field for five minutes, having come on for Xavi Simons in a substitution that was jeered by some sections of the home crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
When Richarlison glanced in Wilson Odobert’s edge-of-the-area shot, Tottenham looked a big favorite for all three points — especially considering United was down to 10 men at that point because of an injury to substitute Benjamin Sesko. United had used all five substitutes and couldn’t replace the striker.
There was still time for De Ligt to find space at the back post at a corner to direct a header goalward and over the line before Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario clawed the ball away.
At the conclusion Tel said he had a “50-50” feeling.
“Second half, our reaction was good, we changed the game,” the French forward said. “But we’re also mad because we had to win today.”
Later, Arsenal takes a six-point lead into a match at Sunderland, while Chelsea hosts Wolverhampton in one of three other games.
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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
