Rating the Players: Ratcliffe Observes Thrilling First Half as Manchester United and Tottenham Draw 2-2 at Old Trafford

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Manchester United's recent minority shareholder, was seen at Old Trafford witnessing a 2-2 Premier League standoff between his investment and Tottenham Hotspur on a Sunday afternoon.

Despite being dominated in majority of a wild first half, United's revitalized frontline featuring Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford, lead twice. The visitors saw equalizers from Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur on either side of half-time leading to a lukewarm finale.

Ending in a draw, Tottenham was left outside the top four while United moved up to the seventh position.

Taking more than 1,000 minutes for his opening Premier League goal, Hojlund netted within 200 seconds of his subsequent match at Old Trafford. His goal against Aston Villa saved United on Boxing Day and opened the scoring on this Sunday, delivering the ball past Guglielmo Vicario in an impressive offensive move.

Spurs under Ange Postecoglou always aim for attack, offering United potential opportunities but are a threat in their own right.

Inside United’s six-yard box, Richarlison, the newly on form forward for Tottenham, beat a cluster of red shirts to successfully guide a 19th-minute corner inside the far post. Tottenham had shown signs of scoring and this marked the 33rd consecutive league match where Tottenham have scored, setting a new club record.

Tottenham looked to head into the half-time with an upper hand, but United took the lead again. Marcus Rashford had a better performance than Pedro Porro from the start, asserting his dominance in the 40th minute. He exchanged passes with Hojlund in Tottenham's box, shrugged off Porro and found the bottom corner.

On the brink of half-time, Cristian Romero crashed a header from a corner against the crossbar missing Spurs's equalizer. However, he initiated the move for Tottenham's second equalizer just after restart.

United’s back four seemed chaotic even when they were organized. Rodrigo Bentancur had enough space to casually enter the penalty area and shoot past Andre Onana, adding another twist to the thrilling opening 46 minutes.

The game became slower in the remainder of the second half, with Spurs controlling the possession but not being able to penetrate their opponents' defense. Scott McTominay's late header went over the bar, denying the watching Ratcliffe one last thrill on his first visit to Old Trafford since his investment.