Mason and Tottenham fans get the required reaction
Following last Sunday's horror show at St. James' Park, the last thing Tottenham Hotspur needed to do in their Premier League home match against Manchester United was concede early on. Seven minutes in and Ryan Mason's team were already one goal behind following Jadon Sancho's strike.
The goal did bear some similarities with Jacob Murphy's four days earlier as both Pedro Porro and Cristian Romero stood off the tricky winger and allowed him the time and space to arrow the ball in beyond Fraser Forster. Creating a few good openings as they looked to restore parity, Richarlison should have done better with a shot straight at David de Gea after Son Heung-min had played him through, before Ivan Perisic then tested the Spaniard with a good header from Pedro Porro's corner.
Going on Tottenham's start to the game coupled with everything that is happening on and off the pitch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at present, all eyes were always going to be on how the crowd reacted and the message that would be sent Daniel Levy's way. As has been the case in the past few games, Tottenham fans once again made their feelings crystal clear and it was something that the chairman simply could not ignore.
READ MORE: Every word Ryan Mason said on reaction, why he changed team after Son strike and Man Utd's goals
Following a couple of chants earlier on in proceedings, the loudest came midway inside the first half as "Daniel Levy, get out of our club" could be heard very clearly from the south stand and other areas of the stadium, with "we want Levy out" chanted just as loud seconds later. Another United goal or two and the atmosphere really could have become toxic.
Needing Forster to deny Marcus Rashford on a couple of occasions, it would be third time lucky for the Manchester United striker on the cusp of half-time as he doubled their lead with an emphatic finish and left Tottenham ruing a huge opportunity. Almost seeing their lead cancelled out after Perisic had wasted a 1v1 against De Gea, the Croat's decision to try and keep the ball in play rather than letting it go out for a corner proved disastrous.
United swiftly won possession of the ball and Rashford was set free, with the striker given a free run at goal by Eric Dier to advance into the area and drive the ball beyond the Tottenham shot-stopper. Rashford probably couldn't believe his luck as he glided into the box with ease before adding to his tally for the campaign.
Mason had spoken in his pre-match press conference about the importance of getting a reaction from his players after the Newcastle thumping, and that's exactly what he got in the second 45 minutes. Having threatened a couple of times early on, Spurs reduced the deficit nine minutes after the break through Porro.
The ball had fallen kindly to him in the box and he produced a finish Harry Kane or Son would have been extremely proud of as he took a touch to set himself before volleying the ball into the top corner. It really was exquisite stuff from the January signing.
The goal really lifted the crowd but they were then almost immediately silenced as Bruno Fernandes darted into the area and crashed an effort against the crossbar, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka seeing his header on the follow up saved well by Forster. Spurs, now with Dejan Kulusevski on in Richarlison's place and with the home faithful roaring them on for a second goal, really upped the pressure on the Red Devils and looked certainties to grab the next goal of the contest.
Seeing Dier and Son waste huge opportunities from close range, the latter atoned for his miss as this time he finished off another superb ball in from Kane to restore parity. There was unfortunately not to be a winner for the Lilywhites as Mason tweaked his setup to ensure they were more conservative in the closing stages rather than going gung-ho and leaving themselves open for United to pick them off.
Following such a chaotic few days in north London with the 6-1 hammering at Newcastle leading to Cristian Stellini's dismissal, Tottenham fans gave their fans a number of positives in the second half to give them some hope going into the final five league fixtures. Their fightback resulted in Mason and his team receiving warm applause from the home fans at full-time, which was a completely different scene to an hour earlier as boos could be heard at the half-time whistle with United 2-0 to the good after Spurs made it far too easy for them.
Speaking to the media in his post-match press conference, Mason hailed his team after showing the character and personality to deliver a huge performance and help turn the game on its head.
"Absolutely. Big character, big personalities, stuck together, kept believing and acted as a team throughout the whole game," explained the 31-year-old. "That pleases me after what happened at the weekend because we probably didn't have that as a group. And off the back of how the first half went in terms of the scoreline, to go out at half-time and stick together, fight for each other and really got our fans involved, I thought they helped us massively, and it's pleasing. It proves a lot to me what I already thought about this group but to see that on to the pitch is a good feeling."
On the amount of chances they created to give themselves a chance of winning the game, he added: "Yeah, we created many chances. I thought in the first half we created a couple as well and maybe if we were a bit more clinical then the flow of the game would have been different.
"The second half we kept pushing, had some real clear openings and maybe if we got the second goal earlier we could have kept pushing. I felt once we had got the second goal the lads had sort of invested so much energy into it that we went a little bit flat and they took a little bit control of the game without really creating anything. To come off 2-2 off the back of going in 2-0 down at half-time is a positive."
Mason follows in Conte's footsteps
Back in the Tottenham hotseat after previously taking on the role two years ago following Jose Mourinho's exit, it was an important day for Mason. Having worked alongside Antonio Conte and Stellini over the past 18 months, he now had the opportunity to stamp his own mark on the team and help get Tottenham back on track.
Things were rather different for the players ahead of kick-off as they arrived at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a lot earlier than usual. Opting to have their pre-match meal in the stadium prior to the 8.15pm kick-off, Mason then had the matchday squad walk together around the pitch almost two hours before the game before they all headed back into the dressing room.
Tending to arrive at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the bus a couple of hours before the game before going immediately inside, this was something different to their usual pre-match preparations. Coincidentally, this is exactly what Conte had his players do before his first game in charge against Vitesse Arnhem back in 2021 as they themselves did a lap around the pitch.
It could well be something that Mason gets his team to do in their two remaining home games against Crystal Palace and Brentford.
Dier's day to forget
It was a huge night for Tottenham's backline going on what happened in their previous game against Newcastle United. Stellini's decision to start with a four-man defence did not go to plan at all and he was forced to revert to the tried and tested three-man backline 20 minutes into the contest after the Magpies had scored a fourth.
Just not having the players available at present to play four at the back, it was no surprise to see Mason name Cristian Romero and Clement Lenglet either side of Dier in defence. The England international did not have a good 90 minutes, with his role in Rashford's goal one he will not want to look back at again.
Set free by a ball over the top from Fernandes, the United marksman was allowed to run at goal by Dier with the Tottenham man not moving across to close him down or narrow the angle. Once Rashford turned on the afterburners there was only one outcome as he breezed past his marker before delivering a thumping finish.
Dier had the chance to make up for his role in United's goal by getting Spurs back on level terms but he somehow passed up the opportunity. In an extremely advanced position, Dier burst into the area unopposed and had a free header on goal from point-blank range after Perisic had picked him out with a pinpoint delivery.
The centre-back somehow headed wide of the target when it looked easier to score, with his glaring miss reminiscent of Darren Bent's howler against Portsmouth all those years ago. Mason knew it was a huge chance and he was on his knees with his head against the turf.
Thankfully for Dier his blushes were spared by Son's equaliser 11 minutes from time. Certainly needing to upgrade at centre-back this summer, Dier's position in the Spurs team for the run-in could possibly be under threat going on his performance as well as the fact that Lenglet and Ben Davies are now fit again.
Perisic impresses despite bad decision
With Davies now back to fitness and having impressed when he has played at left wing-back this season, Perisic could have quite easily dropped down to the substitutes' bench against Manchester United. Certainly not helped out at Newcastle by having to operate as a left-back, the attack-minded player was back in his usual left wing-back role following Mason's formation decision.
Contributing in his own box with a clearance off the line to stop Sancho from netting his second not long after his opener, Perisic then had a big impact at the other end of the pitch. Forcing De Gea into a top save from his glancing header from Porro's corner, the veteran then had such a good chance to level the scores when put through 1v1 against the Spaniard.
He couldn't take it, though, and then opted to slide in to keep the ball alive by the corner flag when it was going out for a corner kick. Appearing to be a strange decision at the time, especially with Spurs looking a real threat from some of Gianni Vio's set-piece routines during the game, it turned out to be a terrible call as United turned the ball over and went straight upfield to double their lead.
Having such a glorious chance to make it 1-1, Spurs were now 2-0 down and facing a mountain to climb. Failing to hit the heights hoped for following his free transfer move from Inter Milan last summer, Perisic caught the eye in the second half and was involved in a lot of Spurs' best football, most notably putting in the cross that Dier headed wide.
Not looking best pleased when he made way late on for Davies, Perisic can be happy with his performance but he may well rue his decision not to let the ball run out for a corner.
Asked about his thoughts on Manchester United's two goals, Mason said: "They were clinical. The first goal I feel we could have done better in terms of blocking the pass in between the lanes and showing them inside as well allowing them to shoot.
"Second goal was a moment of brilliance, but at the same time we could have been better in securing our position when we were in their half. I think it might have come off the back of us having that 1v1 one against De Gea as well. Maybe if that goal had gone in at 1-1 then the feeling is completely different. That is football.
"When you come up against quality players they can be clinical. It's disappointing as we made some mistakes and I understand that. At the same time in football when you fight for each other and act as a unit and act together small mistakes are irrelevant because of the energy we created in the stadium was excellent in the second half. I thought we fully deserved to come out with a draw."
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