Manchester United failed to return to winning ways after a 1-1 Premier League draw against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford yesterday.
The Red Devils went into the game as slight favourites with home advantage, but Spurs were undoubtedly the better side for the opening 30 minutes.
United did not register a shot on goal during that time. The club did improve after the interval and eventually scored through Bryan Mbeumo in the 73rd minute.
Spurs went down to 10 men after Rodrigo Bentancur’s 78th-minute red card, but the London club still managed to muster chances and eventually equalised.
Dominic Solanke showed good strength in the box against Lisandro Martinez before scoring. Senne Lammens could have attempted a save, in our opinion.
Martinez and captain Bruno Fernandes were not at their best against Spurs, but we were particularly unimpressed by Youri Tielemans’ showing in the heart of the midfield.
The £35 million signing made plenty of defensive contributions on the day, but he looked clearly out of pace to the naked eye and was often caught making ball recoveries.
Tielemans lost possession on 10 occasions against Spurs. He was constantly outrun by Spurs’ more dynamic midfield of Sandro Tonali, Conor Gallagher and Lucas Bergvall.
The 29-year-old’s limited mobility has been visible throughout his career. He was undoubtedly exposed yesterday and struggled to provide sufficient cover for Kobbie Mainoo.
Tielemans registered just 21 passes before his 59th-minute substitution. Carlos Baleba, who made his first appearance for United after injury, registered almost as many passes as a substitute.
The Cameroonian exhibited a much higher work rate and tenacity required of a deeper midfielder. In our view, Carrick must drop Tielemans and replace him with Baleba against Atletico Madrid.
Facing Atletico away in the Champions League will be a hectic challenge for United. The La Liga giants work immensely hard in midfield, and United require Baleba’s services from the off.
Of course, Baleba needs to be managed carefully after his injury comeback. He could play at most an hour in Madrid on Tuesday. Tielemans could come off the bench, but we would also like to see Mason Mount and Andrey Santos get more minutes after being unused against Spurs.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com