Premier League Results: Manchester United Hit By Late Dempsey Equalizer as Spurs Earn Deserved Point

Jan 20, 2013 01:10 PM EST
Clint Dempsey Tottenham Manchester United
Clint Dempsey (No. 2) scores the equalizer for Tottenham in their English Premier League game against Manchester United"

 

Manchester United were given a taste of their own medicine, as Tottenham struck late in stoppage time to earn themselves a deserved 1-1 draw against the league leaders.

Robin Van Persie looked to have sent United on their way to another three points with a clinical finish in the first half, before Clint Dempsey struck in the final moments to clinch a point.

Manchester City will be the happiest team of the weekend, after the draw on Sunday saw the gap at the top trimmed to just five points, with United leading on 56 points from 23 matches.

The game took about 20 minutes to get started, with the weather clearly winning the battle as both sides looked to find a footing in the game under heavy snow at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham marginally shaded the opening quarter, with Aaron Lennon, particularly, looking dangerous down the right, cutting in as well as taking on the full-back Patrice Evra down the outside.

The winger created the first opening, with the Spurs man making a run towards the center of the United area from the right, before taking a low strike with his left foot, which was well saved by David De Gea.  Jermain Defoe fluffed his lines on the rebound, when he really should have scored, but the goal would not have stood anyway with the Spurs striker ruled offside.

United, who only had a weak header from Van Persie as anything remotely resembling a chance in the first 25 minutes, took the lead via the prolific Dutchman, who knows a thing or two about playing against Spurs, having tormented them previously in an Arsenal shirt.

After a nice spell of passes, the ball found its way from the left to the right to Tom Cleverley, who swung in a cross towards the far post for an unmarked Van Persie to power home a header past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Defoe nearly equalized immediately at the other end with a quick snapshot, which was just about kept out by De Gea.

United were slowly but surely growing into the game as the first half progressed, keeping possession much better, and allowing former Spurs man Michael Carrick to control the pace of play in midfield.

However, Tottenham, who had plenty of possession but were unable to do anything really with it, nearly equalized via Gareth Bale, anonymous until then, with the winger seeing his strike from outside the box off a corner, taking a couple of deflections before being saved by the feet of De Gea.

Tottenham needed to show better quality as an attacking force in the second half, and they did. Spurs took the game to United, and would have opened the scoring right at the beginning, had not it been for some brilliant goalkeeping from De Gea.

Moussa Dembele scythed open the United defense through the middle before playing through Dempsey, but the American forward's shot was brilliantly kept out by De Gea with his feet.

Dempsey then again tested United's Spanish goalkeeper with a left-footed drive from an acute angle, which De Gea did well to keep out at the near post.

United were more than happy to let Tottenham have possession in the second half, looking to hit the home side on the counter through the pace of Danny Welbeck and class of Van Persie, with Wayne Rooney, who came on just after the hour also looking dangerous on the break.

Defoe, though, had a glorious opportunity, thanks to some brilliant play from Lennon, but the England striker's hesitant first touch allowed Rio Ferdinand, who was brilliant in defense along with Nemanja Vidic, to block the goal-bound effort.

Bale threatened a couple of times, with a strike from outside the box and a brilliant cross from the left, but Spurs still could not find a way through.

Just when it looked like United were going to come away with all three points to regain their seven-point lead at the top, Tottenham struck the equalizer, with it being third time lucky for Dempsey.

Assou-Ekotto played a cross into the box from the left, with De Gea punching under pressure; the ball fell to Lennon, who squared the ball to Dempsey to tap into an open net in the second minute of stoppage time, and sending the White Hart Lane faithful, who had braved the weather, into delirium.

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