Tottenham Hotspur came from behind twice to earn a thrilling 2-2 draw against Manchester United in front of new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe, who was “very excited” to be attending his first game since a proposed 25% purchase of his boyhood club was confirmed on Christmas Eve, expressed his excitement in advance.

And he witnessed Rasmus Hojlund give United the lead in the third minute.

Ratcliffe’s pre-game claim that United “normally do well against Spurs” was not entirely supported by the results, though.

For the visitors, who were missing three players—including captain Son Heung-min—due to their absence from the Asian Cup due to South Korea, Brazilian striker Richarlison tied the score with his sixth goal in as many Premier League games.

Prior to halftime, Marcus Rashford gave the home team the lead. However, a minute into the second half, Rodrigo Bentancur scored his first goal since April, when he had been recovering from an ankle issue and cruciate knee ligament injury.

Ratcliffe, who was seated beside Sir Alex Ferguson in the directors’ box, would have learned a lot throughout the remainder of the match. With just nine shots compared to Tottenham’s sixteen, and only three of the visitors’ six on goal, United had less than 40% of the play.

Spurs could not move past rivals Arsenal and into the top four with a draw. However, it did enable them to hold onto an eight-point lead over their hosts, who could fall to tenth before their next game on February 1 against Wolves.

Hojlund and Rashford had combined for just four Premier League goals this season before this match. Consequently, Ratcliffe felt extremely fortunate to witness both players score in his first forty-five minutes as a ‘fan’ again. The fact that both of them were heavily involved in achieving the other’s objective only heightened the feeling of occasion.

Only on December 26, during United’s final home game versus Aston Villa, did Hojlund finally break through with an incredible late winner.

His most recent attempt gave off the impression of someone experiencing a confidence boost. Soon after Destiny Udogie had intervened to stop Rashford’s charge across the penalty area, Hojlund wasted little time in blasting a shot high into the Tottenham goal.

Rashford has accomplished so much that there shouldn’t be a problem with confidence. However, he hasn’t been the same player who scored more than 30 goals for the first time the previous campaign. When he hesitated to take a shot after finding himself in a great position right before halftime, there was a hint of insecurity in him. However, he had already discovered the net once by that point.

Bruno Fernandes played a pivotal role by executing an incredible pass to the England striker. However, Hojlund was the one who delivered the ideal return pass, and Rashford’s shot found the bottom corner as Tottenham’s defenders could not react quickly enough.

During a pause in play midway through the second half, Rashford and manager Erik ten Hag had a lengthy conversation. Pedro Porro outran him in a quick chase into the Tottenham area, and the full-back outwitted his opponent as he attempted to check onto his right foot, giving the appearance of being more of a tactical analysis than a critique of the forward’s most recent missed opportunity.

Three minutes from time, Rashford was finally replaced by Antony, but he did not look happy about it. He chuckled to himself as he took his seat.

Favourite of the Tottenham supporters Betancur had a busy day recovering from the ankle injury that happened a month after he recovered from cruciate surgery.

When a flag was raised for an offside, the Uruguayan kicked the ball away, earning himself a caution for absurdly arguing he was giving the ball back to United when, in reality, he had sent it yards away from where it needed to be. Dalot had cleared the Uruguayan’s early effort off the line.

It was a great effort, his first goal since the day he was injured. The pass came from debutant Timo Werner, a collector’s item considering he only managed one assist in 21 league appearances during his final season at Chelsea. Bentancur then steadied himself before launching a drive past Andre Onana, who was headed to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Given that Micky van de Ven was returning from a two-month absence due to a hamstring injury, Tottenham will hope that Radu Dragusin’s injury, which forced him off the pitch near the end, was simply fatigue-related. Still, a draw was the least that the team deserved.