Solanke's stoppage-time header rescues ten-man Tottenham as United's worst start since 1986 deepens
Dominic Solanke flicked in a stoppage-time header to earn ten-man Tottenham a 1-1 Premier League draw at Old Trafford on Saturday, deepening the gloom around Manchester United's season and leaving goalkeeper Senne Lammens with what he called a "sour feeling" he is desperate to get rid of.
United's underwhelming start to their Premier League campaign continued as they were held by the side that arrived at Old Trafford bottom of the table. Lammens, who had made an early error, atoned by denying Spurs captain Solanke from close range as the visitors were perhaps unfortunate not to be ahead at the break. Michael Carrick's side then took the lead in the 73rd minute through Bryan Mbeumo.
Tottenham's hopes of getting back into the game were further dented when Rodrigo Bentancur was handed a straight red card for headbutting Luke Shaw, but Solanke still had the final say in second-half stoppage time, flicking in the leveller to punish some questionable defending from Lisandro Martínez.
'Sour feeling' Lammens demands a response
Lammens admitted the late concession left a sour taste — and insisted he and his team-mates must flush it out quickly with a congested run of fixtures across all competitions looming.
"I mean, you can look at it both ways, to be honest. We know there are a lot of games coming very fast," Lammens said. "After a disappointment, you can take that disappointment with you, or you can get it changed real quick and know there's a game coming up very quickly."
"For me, personally, if I maybe don't have the best game, I'm looking forward to the next game to get that sour feeling out of my mouth, so I think that's the feeling we have to get," he added. "We know we showed a lot of good things as well, so take those things and learn from them. There are a lot of very important games, but we also love to play those games."
Lammens also underlined the stakes of United's Champions League campaign, which resumes with a daunting trip to Atletico Madrid. "We fought last year to be in the Champions League, so we're very happy to be there," he said. "And if you want to go far in that competition as well, you have to win those games as well."
Alarming numbers pile up for United
The draw leaves the Red Devils with just six points from their first six Premier League matches and stranded in the bottom half of the table — their fewest at this stage of a league campaign since 1986-87, when they had four.
United have now failed to win five of their six top-flight games this season (D3 L2), already as many games without victory as in the 17 league matches under Carrick last season (W12 D3 L2). They have also failed to win any of their last three Premier League games against the team starting the day bottom, drawing 1-1 in all of them — against Wolves in December 2025, Fulham last month and now Tottenham.
All the more concerning is their record against reduced opponents: United have not won any of their last three Premier League games against sides that have received a red card (D1 L2), with Bentancur's dismissal the latest to go unpunished.
Lammens, though, pointed to collective responsibility rather than individual errors. "I think sometimes, in the end, it comes down to maybe here and there, maybe a mistake from someone, but it doesn't really start with that," he said. "I think it's a team thing. The manager has been hammering a lot about defending as a team, being able to put pressure on the opposition team, especially on the crosses."
"And I think [against Spurs it] was better, but then you see, in the end, one good cross and one good header, and you can lose the game like that, or the win can go away like that," Lammens added.
Bottom-of-the-table Spurs show signs of life
For Tottenham, the point offered a measure of resistance for a club whose summer outlay, reported by Sky Sports at around £334m against United's £163m rebuild, has so far failed to lift them off the foot of the table.
That spending spree had already been described in September as hitting a new low, when Aston Villa exposed Spurs' fragility, while reporting that month cited injuries, team changes and arduous tours as reasons for their misfiring start. There were warnings that, without rapid improvement in finishing and defensive organisation, the costly revamp risked becoming another season of relegation anxiety. "…we have to finish better the clear situations," the Tottenham manager said after the team's Carabao Cup defeat by Liverpool in September.
Pundits were no kinder before Saturday's kick-off. "I'm not sure any Tottenham fans would be devastated if any of their players are missing, because I'm not sure the manager knows their best team at the moment," former Spurs midfielder Tim Sherwood told Sky Sports, while the broadcaster's Tottenham reporter Michael Bridge added: "I think they need a striker — an actual No 9 — but how many are there out there?"
Bentancur's red card capped a frustrating afternoon — and season — for the midfielder, who is yet to register a goal or an assist in his six Premier League appearances in 2026-27, according to FotMob data.
What next
United's response must come quickly: daunting away trips to Atletico Madrid and Leeds United are their next two matches, and they round out their October schedule with a visit to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
For now, though, the prevailing emotion around Old Trafford is the one Lammens wants gone as fast as possible: sour.