Tottenham vs. Man Utd Player Ratings: Reckless Romero responsible for Old Trafford defeat

Tottenham succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, as captain Cristian Romero saw red to cap off a dramatic week for the Argentine.

United entered the game off the back of three wins under interim manager Michael Carrick, but Spurs were also emboldened by their second-half fightback against Manchester City last weekend.

There was a watchable back-and-forth nature to the early exchanges, with Spurs getting a foothold after United's bright start. However, the contest altered dramatically when Romero, just days after labelling the current availability crisis "disgraceful", sold his teammates down the river by recklessly following through on Casemiro.

The visitors, who were well in the game, were forced to play the remaining hour a man down, and their hopes of securing a result were trimmed further when Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring from a cleverly-worked set-piece.

Thomas Frank's side deserved credit for at least staying in the game for much of the second half, but a Xavi Simons strike from range was the only effort of note amid their search for an unlikely equaliser. The dagger came relatively late on, via the shin of Bruno Fernandes, as United's resurgence continued by claiming victory in this fixture for the first time since 2022.

Man Utd 2–0 Tottenham Player Ratings

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Guglielmo Vicario (GK): 8/10—Our No. 1 produced a few excellent saves to ensure we stayed in the contest after going down to ten, but he threatened to undermine that work with some questionable distribution.

Archie Gray (RB): 7/10—This was a mature display from young Gray, who was positionally excellent for much of the game. Sniffed out danger, and was cool when required with the ball at his feet.

Cristian Romero (CB): 0/10—Saw a Brazilian. Saw red. Not the worst challenge in the world, but it was enough. Romero let his teammates down.

Micky van de Ven (CB): 7.5/10—Tried his very best to salvage something with some excellent defensive work, and there were times when it looked like he'd potentially repeat his stunning assist on this ground from last season.

Destiny Udogie (LB): 6.5/10—The Italian surged upfield during our brightest period of the contest, and worked his way out of pressure superbly at times. However, he was forced off, once again, with an injury.

Midfielders

João Palhinha (CM): 7/10—It was Palhinha's sort of game after Romero was sent off. The Portuguese's effort was relentless, and he was harshly punished by referee Michael Oliver on occasion.

Pape Matar Sarr (CM): 6.5/10—Quality of pass let him down at times, but Sarr's performance was scrappy and enough to disrupt United's rhythm at times.

Conor Gallagher (AM): 7/10—The January arrival was absolutely gassed by the time he was withdrawn after 80 minutes. Gallagher threatened early with a superbly timed run in behind, and, like Palhinha, his effort, given the context, deserves plenty of praise.

Forwards

Wilson Odobert (RW): 5/10—Sacrificed after Romero saw red, having not seen much of the ball during the opening 30 minutes.

Xavi Simons (LW): 6.5/10—The Dutchman purred at times, and was the man we pivoted to in the hope of rescuing something from a far-from-ideal situation. Wanted to take responsiblity in possession, but his weight of pass remains an issue.

Dominic Solanke (ST): 5/10—A fruitless task for Solanke up against two physical and aggressive centre-backs. A tough outing was made ever tougher after 30 minutes, and the Englishman didn't get much of a sniff.

Substitutes

• Radu Drăgușin: 6.5/10
• João Souza: 6/10
• Yves Bissouma: N/A
• Randal Kolo Muani: N/A
• Mathys Tel: N/A

Player of the match: Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd)