De Ligt Has Become a Key Player for Manchester United

Matthijs de Ligt is the only Manchester United player to have played every minute of the Premier League in the 2025-26 season. Though he looked slightly fatigued in the second half against Tottenham, he still jumped high in the 6th minute of stoppage time to head home Bruno Fernandes' corner, snatching a point for United and extending their unbeaten run to five games—a huge boost to the team's morale ahead of the international break.

De Ligt's goal was also clever. He was marked by Brennan Johnson, with whom a first-half tussle had seen the Tottenham forward pick up a yellow card. So as the game neared full-time, the Welshman knew he had to be cautious. This gap allowed United goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt to position himself between Johnson and De Ligt as the Dutchman made his run—Vandevoordt was alert and quick to react. De Ligt then to completely shake off Johnson, creating an unmarked jumping opportunity for himself.

The Dutchman started at right centre-back, strictly executing manager Rúben Amorim's tactics, making decisive tackles to regain possession when chances arose. In the 20th minute, he appeared in the center circle, leaping to intercept Pape Sarr's pass before Richarlison.

After Harry Maguire came off injured in the 72nd minute, De Ligt moved to the central role in the three-man defence, taking on different defensive tasks. He was frustrated at failing to fully block Toney's 84th-minute equalizer, a sign of his sense of responsibility.

"He was excellent, very aggressive, and defended well," Amorim said. “His ability on the ball is stronger than he's showing right now. He's still in a phase where he doesn't want to make mistakes in possession. That's smart for a player. But as a team, our three centre-backs need to control the game's rhythm.”

United showed signs of progress but also had issues. They had a chance to move up to second in the table, at least temporarily, but wasted it. Since the start of last season, they have won just 5 of their 25 Premier League away games.

Amorim angrily threw his water bottle to the ground when Toney equalized at 1-1. Seven minutes later, when Richarlison put Tottenham ahead, he paced the touchline. His substitution decisions will be questioned: when Šeško was forced off injured in the 86th minute, leaving the team with 10 men for the final stages, he had already used all five substitutions. However, Maguire and Casemiro did have physical issues when leaving the pitch, and Doku was already on a yellow card.

Manuel Ugarte, who replaced Casemiro, was dribbled past by Odobert before Toney's equalizer and then pushed deep into the box by Bentancur, leaving him too late to catch Richarlison offside for his goal. Šeško, who replaced Mazraoui, had a chance to score one-on-one after Mount's brilliant pass but chose to cut inside and lost possession. The opportunity stemmed from Amad winning the ball from Odobert and Fernandes' quick pass.

Šeško was also sharp in creating a second chance, deftly controlling Vandevoordt's long ball to Mount, who immediately played a reverse pass to the sprinting Šeško. But his hesitation gave Van de Ven a chance to make a brilliant tackle, and the knee injury Šeško suffered at this moment made things worse.

However, these attacking combinations are replicable and show better understanding between teammates, as demonstrated by Mbeumo's first-half goal. United pressed Tottenham high, and when Cunha played the ball to Doku on the left, they had as many as six players in or around the box—three forwards, two wing-backs, and Fernandes. This vividly showed Amorim's most effective system: despite Tottenham's attempts to clear, United's numerical advantage prevailed.

Mazraoui passed to Cunha, who quickly found Amad. Amad's calm and patience in the chaos bought time for Cunha to pose a threat, drawing Van de Ven and Romero's attention, leaving Porro to mark three players alone at the back post—United again had six players in Tottenham's box. Johnson reacted too slowly to the danger, Mbeumo slipped past Porro, and headed home. Then, in the final stages, it was Mbeumo driving down the left that won United the equalizing corner. He has played every minute of the Premier League.