Tottenham

2.73

• 
  95

  24

  3.00

  Hugo Lloris

  Seems to have won the war for a first-team place with Brad Friedel, and he generally did what he had to here. The France goalkeeper did not have many shots to save in truth, and Van Persie’s header left him with little chance.

• 
  38

  51

  2.50

  Kyle Naughton

  Has played a considerable amount of football for Spurs this season following a loan period at Norwich and he had a fairly comfortable match. United’s lack of wingers and Rafael’s battle with Bale saw little threat come down Naughton’s side. He was taken off for Assou-Ekotto with about 20 minutes to go.

• 
  68

  37

  3.00

  Michael Dawson

  United sat back for long periods of the match, meaning Dawson mostly had to deal with long balls from the defence and De Gea, which he unsurprisingly dealt with easily. The movement of Welbeck caused problems all evening, and Van Persie’s clever silky flicks saw him taken out of the game for a couple of seconds.

• 
  52

  46

  2.50

  Kyle Walker

  Usually very forward-thinking, but even with United not fielding wingers Walker did not seem so enthusiastic about attacking. Given Evra’s difficulty with Lennon alone, the two Spurs men could have had a field day against the France left-back. Defensively his pace bailed him out on occasion, but he completely lost Van Persie for the striker’s first-half goal.

• 
  53

  36

  2.50

  Steven Caulker

  Won a decent number of headers at the back and did a good job on Van Persie for much of the match, but he was very lucky not to concede a penalty to Rooney near the hour mark.

• 
  128

  36

  3.00

  Clint Dempsey

  The American often had both Carrick and Jones to contend with and more often than not Spurs looked towards the wings when attacking, meaning Dempsey was bypassed a lot. When he did get into the attacking third, too often he wasted possession and he really should have equalised early on in the second half. After wasting earlier chances, he eventually levelled the scores in injury time.

• 
  204

  20

  4.00

  Aaron Lennon

  Ran rings around Evra at times, gliding past him like he wasn’t there in the first half, and lured the Frenchman into getting a yellow card too. Always looks a threat against United and today was no different as he grabbed a late assist.

• 
  65

  44

  2.50

  Scott Parker

  Spurs’ preparation for this fixture took a big blow when Sandro was ruled out for the rest of the season, but that allowed Parker to make his first Premier League start of the campaign. He started well enough, but as the match went on he did not do enough to prevent Kagawa from producing those first-time flicks he tries so often.

• 
  80

  58

  2.50

  Gareth Bale

  Many had billed Bale as the key man for Spurs in this encounter and given his form this season one would have expected more than he produced. His passing was good, but he had a serious struggle in getting past Rafael. He had more luck against Jones after half-time, yet he will still be a little disappointed.

• 
  124

  27

  3.00

  Moussa Dembele

  Kept Spurs’ moves ticking with accurate passing and often proved useful at halting United attacks before they really got going, but he was still a little disappointing, mostly from an offensive perspective. Rarely did the Belgian burst through from midfield and help find a way through the Red Devils’ defence, and his creativity could have had an important effect.

• 
  43

  75

  2.50

  Jermain Defoe

  Looked lively early on and forced De Gea into a near-post save with a quick snapshot, but for large periods of the match he was rather quiet as Ferdinand and Vidic marshalled the United half in commanding style. Continued to have chances, but ultimately lost his duel with the Spanish goalkeeper.

Substitutions

• 
  55

  35

  2.50

  Benoit Assou-Ekotto

  Came on for the final 20 minutes, but did not have much to do as United generally sat back.

• 
  48

  44

  2.00

  Tom Huddlestone

  Saw the last 10 minutes and had plenty of the ball, but he was unable to inspire a turnaround.

Man Utd.

3.04

• 
  283

  53

  3.50

  David de Gea

  Certainly the busier of the two goalkeepers and he put in a very good display, making a number of stops from Defoe, and two exceptional ones with his legs from Bale and Dempsey. Looked unconvincing from high crosses or corners at times and he may have been disapppointed not to punch more convincingly in the build-up to Dempsey's equaliser.

• 
  242

  49

  3.50

  Rafael

  Defended well in what looked set to be a key duel with Bale. The Wales international was kept quiet by Rafael in the first half, and even though he threatened a little more after half-time, the Brazilian still put in a good shift.

• 
  127

  177

  1.50

  Patrice Evra Flop of the Match

  If there is one fixture in which you can guarantee Evra will struggle, it is against Spurs, or more specifically Lennon. From very early on it was clear Lennon would be Spurs’ out ball and the England international certainly gave his French counterpart plenty to think about, with his positioning less than impressive several times.

• 
  215

  49

  3.50

  Phil Jones

  Deployed in midfield as United hoped to nullify the threat posed by Dempsey and Dembele, which he did fairly well. The England international consistently made excellent challenges in midfield and helped Rafael out with Bale. His passing was sometimes poor and he was booked, but generally he was very good.

• 
  245

  36

  4.00

  Rio Ferdinand

  Had his hands full with Defoe, but he was absolutely essential at the back for United. One tackle to deny the striker an almost-certain goal was his highlight, but he made block after block and looked impenetrable.

• 
  205

  63

  2.50

  Nemanja Vidic

  His central partner generally dealt with Defoe leaving Vidic to mop up. The Serbian had a fairly unspectacular afternoon, but he did well to keep Dempsey under wraps until the final few minutes when the forward peeled off and tucked in the equaliser.

• 
  279

  56

  4.00

  Michael Carrick Top of the Match

  The subject of recent praise from Sir Alex Ferguson, who labelled this season as Carrick’s best at United, and his influence on the team was just as noticeable at White Hart Lane. Everything United did seemed to go through the ex-Tottenham man, and he was particularly effective at helping sweep up alongside Phil Jones.

• 
  210

  48

  3.00

  Tom Cleverley

  He seems to have established himself as first choice alongside Carrick this season, and in recent weeks he has done a lot to prove he deserves his place. Against Spurs, generally he kept his passing short and simple, but when needed the England midfielder was more than willing to look up and pick out a pass from range, as exhibited for Van Persie’s opener when he crossed with precision. He faded after the break and came off, but he seems to be improving all the time.

• 
  205

  96

  3.50

  Danny Welbeck

  His distribution left a lot to be desired at times, misplacing passes in middle and final thirds, but his overall play was very encouraging. His pace and energy were constant problems for the Spurs defence, while his movement saw him evading markers throughout as he popped up all over the place in attack.

• 
  263

  53

  3.50

  Robin van Persie

  After a fairly quiet 25 minutes, the Dutch striker came alive precisely when it mattered as he peeled away from his marker and headed Cleverley’s cross past Lloris. For most of the match he remained on the periphery of proceedings, but always gave his team-mates an option in attack.

• 
  202

  147

  3.00

  Shinji Kagawa

  The Japan international has struggled to stamp his authority on the Premier League since signing from Borussia Dortmund, as he has consistently been asked to do a job significantly deeper than he used to. However, with no wingers on the field for United, Kagawa was given greater license to roam further forward and certainly appeared more comfortable as he helped link the midfield with the attack.

Substitutions

• 
  115

  147

  1.50

  Antonio Valencia

  Replaced Cleverley in the second half, but continued his run of poor form by having virutally no effect for United. Looks a shadow of the player he was last season.

• 
  191

  85

  2.50

  Wayne Rooney

  Came on for the tiring Kagawa in the second half and looked sharp initially, but his influence soon wavered as Spurs pressed for the equaliser.