Many thanks to Declan Mulcahy for this comprehensive report:-
Saturday 7 February 2026, 12:30pm
Premier League
Manchester United (1) 2 Tottenham Hotspur (0) 0
Scorers:-
Mbeumo 38, Fernandes 81
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Michael Carrick
31 S Lammens; 2 D Dalot, 5 H Maguire, 6 L Martinez, 3 L Shaw (3 N
Mazraoui 87); 18 Casemiro (25 M Ugarte 87), 37 K Mainoo (39 T Fletcher
(90+2); 16 A Diallo, 8 B Fernandes (c), 19 B Mbeumo (11 J Zirkzee 87);
10 M Cunha (30 B Sesko 75).
Subs not used: 1 A Bayindir. 26 A Heaven, 12 T Malacia, 15 L Yoro.
Booked: Diallo (45 late tackle on Simons)
Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3):
1 G Vicario; 14 A Gray, 17 C Romero (c), 37 M van de Ven; 13 D Udogie
(38 Souza 55); 22 C Gallagher (8 Y Bissouma 80), 6 J Palhinha (11 M
Tel 80), 29 P M Sarr; 28 W Odobert (3 R Dragusin 32), 19 D Solanke (39
R Kolo Muani 80), 7 X Simons.
Subs not used: 31 A Kinsky, 67 J Byfield, 52 C Olusesi, 68 L Williams-Barnett
Booked: Udogie (27 foul on Diallo), Palhinha (70 foul on Mainoo)
Sent Off: Romero (29 Serious foul play - tackle on Casemiro)
Captain's Armband: Romero (van de Ven 29)
Old Trafford, Attendance: 73,985
Referee: Michael Oliver, Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt, Nick
Greenhalgh, Fourth Official: Sam Allison, VAR: Paul Tierney, Assistant
VAR: Marc Perry
More Romero controversy
Thanks to Eugene Gasper for his picture
Cristian Romero had been in the news for his outspoken comments
following the Manchester City match. Today he was sent off after only
29 minutes. The game had been fairly well-balanced before his
departure but tilted decisively in Manchester United's favour once
Spurs had been reduced to ten men so early.
Yesterday was the 68th anniversary of the Munich air crash on 6
February 1958 which devastated the Manchester United club. The club
commemorated that event today. The two managers Michael Carrick and
Thomas Frank led the teams out and each placed a wreath beside the
touchline. Both teams wore black armbands.
Thomas Frank made three changes from the team which came back to draw
against Manchester City last weekend. van de Ven, Sarr and Odobert
replaced Dragusin, Bissouma and Tel. Before the game it was thought
that Frank would use a 3-4-2-1 formation with Palhinha in the back
three and Gray and Udogie as wing-backs. In fact it was a 4-3-3
formation with Archie Gray at right back.
Manchester United have done well since Michael Carrick has taken over
as interim manager. They had won the three Premier League matches he
had been in charge of against Manchester City (h), Arsenal (a) and
Fulham (h). United clearly had momentum and it was no surprise that he
named an unchanged side.
The initial exchanges were back and forth.
At the start Fernandes set up Mbeumo but his effort was too high. The
United goalkeeper Lammens made a poor clearance which fell to Gallagher but Shaw fouled him before he could attempt a shot.
Casemiro unleashed a shot on target from outside the box but Vicario saved it. Gallagher had possession in the opposite box but Lammens smothered the ball. Palhinha and Sarr were both blocked in quick succession on the edge of the box.
Dalot made a good run down the inside right channel but Cunha's side-footed shot went wide. Another United attack was snuffed out by Gray. Udogie was booked for a foul on Diallo to stop him breaking away.
At this point the match was fairly well-balanced and Spurs could hope for a reasonable result.
Then disaster struck. Romero put in a crunching tackle on Casemiro and caught his leg. Referee Michael Oliver had no hesitation in showing a red card. Three minutes later Frank had to sacrifice an attacking option Odobert for a defensive player Dragusin.
The extra man gave United a decisive advantage.
Cunha set up Fernandes but his shot was deflected by van de Ven for a corner. It was taken short to Mainoo. He set up Mbeumo who scored with a shot to the right corner of the goal.
A dangerous cross was cleared by Palhinha before Vicario made a fine save from Casemiro's header.
Diallo was booked for a late tackle on Simons. Vicario made another good save from Diallo. The final action of the half found Solanke with the ball in the United box but he couldn't get a shot away.
There were no changes at half time.
The second half was dominated by United but Spurs were resilient for long periods and Vicario made some good saves.
Udogie had to be replaced due to injury and Souza the recent young signing from Brazil came on to make his debut. He wasn't overawed and had a couple of nice touches thereafter. One was a good run down the left side. The other happened when it looked like United might break away but he was fast enough to gather the loose ball.
United applied a fair amount of pressure to extend their lead but Spurs stood firm. At one point Fernandes put in a rabona cross but Vicario gathered it in mid-air.
After a poor pass by Shaw, Simons had a shot from outside the box but it went wide.
Spurs made a triple substitution with 10 minutes left with Bissouma, Tel and Kolo Muani replacing Gallagher, Palhinha and Solanke.
Soon after that United put the game to bed. Dalot crossed from the right to Sesko in the middle. He set up Fernandes on the left to score with a shot. It was his 200th goal involvement (104 goals, 96 assists) in 314 games in all competitions for United.
In time added on Tyler Fletcher came on to make his debut for Manchester United. He is the son of Darren Fletcher who made over two hundred league appearances for Manchester United and won 80 caps for Scotland. His twin brother Jack has also played for United this year. Country-wise Tyler opted for Scotland whereas Jack chose England. They played against each other in a youth international in February 2023.
This was a game of two distinct phases. During the first twenty-nine minutes Spurs were capable of achieving a draw or perhaps even winning. Thereafter though they showed some resilience and Vicario made some good saves but the result was never in doubt.
Romero becomes more and more controversial. There is no doubt that at times he provides good leadership on the pitch and contributes important goals.
However there is a significant down-side. This season alone he has been sent off twice in both cases significantly affecting the outcome of the game. (Against Liverpool Spurs were pushing for an equaliser but it fizzled out after his departure). He was suspended for one game early in the season for accumulating five bookings. Then came a one match ban for the Liverpool red card followed by another one for stupidly refusing to leave the pitch when he was sent off. He now faces a four-match ban (an additional game for a second red card) and
will miss the Newcastle United (h), Arsenal (h), Fulham (a) and Crystal Palace (h) games.
He has been sent of six times now playing for Spurs more than any other Premier League player during this period. It is fairly clear the Premier League referees are not impressed with his take-no-prisoners style tackling.
When you take into account the two red cards as well as the suspensions, that is nine matches out of 29 Premier League and FA Cup games so far this this season up to the end of his ban, almost one third of those games, where he has put the club at a disadvantage.
Notwithstanding his positive impact at times, this is too high a price to pay. In addition there are the controversial social media posting. Some may agree with them. However the reality is that they have a destabilizing effect on the club. Time and effort which could be devoted to other tasks is spent dealing with fallout of his comments.
There is a certain irony in him berating other people for failing to deliver when his own lack of restraint is hindering the club's prospects in other ways.
Thomas Frank was asked in his press conference this week if Romero would still be at the club next season. He replied that he didn't know. It is becoming increasing likely that he won't. Spurs potentially have a good replacement in the exciting prospect Luka Vuskovic. If that is the case any money from a transfer could be spent upgrading other areas of the squad.
It remains to be seen what happens. One way or another Romero is generating far too much discussion in the media for all of the wrong reasons.
. Squad numbers,appearances,bookings & goalscorers
. Read the preview for this game.
. All the Spurs Stats you could hope for here!
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