Odion Ighalo returned to action for Manchester United for the first time since extending his stay as the Red Devils rescued a point at Tottenham Hotspur courtesy of a late Bruno Fernandes penalty.
Ighalo had watched proceedings from the bench before being introduced for Anthony Martial in the 78th-minute as United chased an equaliser.
The game also witnessed Paul Pogba returning for Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s side for the first time since 26 December as a second-half substitute and it was the French midfielder that won the penalty that earned his side a point.
Spurs’ opener came in the 27th-minute when winger Steven Bergwijn easily beat United captain Harry Maguire and unleashed a powerful drive straight at David de Gea whose halfhearted attempt to punch clear only succeeded in helping the ball into the net.
Up till then, United had been the better team and fashioned the better chances and should have taken the lead but the fit-again Marcus Rashford could only lash straight at Hugo Lloris from Davidson Sanchez’s misplaced header.
Son Heung-min nearly doubled Spurs’ lead but de Gea made a flying save to tip his header over the bar to make a measure of amends for the goal.
Both sides were unchanged in the second half with Jose Mourinho’s Spurs content to sit back and soak up the pressure while United sought openings to little avail.
Anthony Martial, anonymous for the most part, elicited a fantastic save from Lloris for his only contribution of note in the entire game.
Pogba’s introduction for Fred alongside Mason Greenwood who replaced Daniel James in the 63rd minute added impetus to United’s attack with the latter showing just how much his creativity has been missed.
Receiving the ball on the right of the box, Pogba bamboozled Eric Dier with a sublime sleight of feet to surge into the area before he was hauled down clumsily by the defender.
Bruno Fernandes, who has become United’s designated penalty taker since his January move then equalised with an emphatic drive to the ‘keepers right nine minutes from time.
Spurs survived a last-minute scare as referee Jon Moss pointed to the spot again when Dier collided with Fernandes but the video assistant referee correctly reversed a poor decision.
Ighalo, who is still yet to break his Premier League duck, then found Greenwood in a promising area in added time but the striker’s shot whistled narrowly past Lloris’s post to leave both sides with a share of the spoils.
The result means United who are currently unbeaten in twelve games in all competition stay in 5th-place, two points behind 4th-placed Chelsea and four points ahead of 7th-placed Spurs in the race for a Champions League slot.
