Feb 07, 2026
3 min read
Brian MBEumo and Bruno Fernandes gave Manchester United a 2nd win over Tottenham as Cristian Romero was sent off for the second time this season.
The revival of Michael Carrick of Manchester United saw a fourth consecutive league victory, while Tottenham Thomas Frank continued to sink, still without victory in the competition in 2026. Bruno Fernandes' shot at 81 minutes was a feathered touch of Shin - from a lazy crossing of Dalot - who beat GugliVicario.
"He's our captain and one of our key players," said the Dane, who retained Cristian Romero as captain despite the defender's "embarrassing" exit with just 11 outfield players for Sunday's draw with Manchester City.
What followed was Romero's second red card in 10 games (and sixth in the club's uniform) in the 29th minute, with Frank cursing and looking silly, and although Romero is currently serving a four-game ban, he won't ask anyone else to lead the team.
Bryan Mbeumo's superb 10th goal in 20 games followed eight minutes later and left Frank wondering about his future.For Carrick, the Midas touch was cuter: United finally made it four league wins in a row under Erik ten Hag in February 2024.
Feints, punches and counterpunches are the order of the day, with players flustered by exchanging passes and building unusual moves.On the United side, Fernandes, fed by Amad Diallo, forced Mbeumo to cut left, but he missed.
For Spurs, Xavi Simons, dropping in on the left, was the main leader, starting an attack in the half and then bursting into United, throwing the ball to Conor Gallagher who should have beaten Senne Lammens from close range.Dominic Solanke also failed to take advantage of Destiny Udogie's cross from the left, the Spurs striker fell.
The visitors' 4-2-3-1 replaced United's 4-1-1-3-1, with Kobbi Mainu ahead of Casemiro in the engine room and Carrick dropping an unchanged X1 line-up.
Frank, who picked three different players from the city draw, was looking for a first league win on December 28: a terrifying statistic.Micky van de Ven's return from injury was a big plus, but Romero's hold on his position was countered with an X-rating challenge on Casemiro.Just outside the Spurs area, the ball went to the Manchester United midfielder who saw the Argentine stamp on his left ankle.
Casemiro screamed in pain and Michael Oliver immediately picked up the red card.Romero joked that Wilson Odobert had sacrificed himself to allow Rado Dragosin to take the infamous centre-back spot.
United therefore had a man advantage by 72 minutes (plus added time) and needed less than 10 for Mbeumo's smart finish.From the left, Fernandes took a corner to Vicario's near post, where Mainoo, missing in the middle of the goal, found the ball and without looking at the edge of the area where the unmarked Cameroonian fired into the right corner.
Jubilation for United and, minutes later, Mbeumo almost turned provider: a cross from the right was headed towards the goal by Casemiro's head, but Vicario went over.
United are close and Spurs love to play.The man in red made six passes past a static opponent, who exploded but still found Luke Shaw in the area.His ball was headed for Diallo, but he was knocked out.
Spurs' problems were compounded when Udogi was forced off in the 54th minute and 19-year-old Sousa was replaced at left-back.They needed a minor miracle or mistake, such as when Shaw fired a penalty straight at Simons despite the striker's shot radar being switched off.
Shaw then lifted a goal-tying effort, which Vicario won, and Man United's dominant long-time keeper did the same.
Sesko missed a header at the end but it was not important, especially after Fernandes' second goal."Some people will say that I didn't want to, but I knew that the ball was going straight to the ground so I had to go straight to cross Vicario," said the United captain.
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