Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens has insisted that there are positives to take from the frustrating 1-1 Premier League draw against 10-man Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Saturday. The Red Devils were poor in the first half but managed to reach the break without conceding.
Michael Carrick's team showed more intent in the second half before their efforts were rewarded in the 73rd minute, when Bryan Mbeumo found the back of the net. Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Rodrigo Bentancur was shown a straight red card in the 78th minute for a headbutt on Luke Shaw.
United were expected to see out the game against a Tottenham Hotspur side that were yet to win a game this season and had also been reduced to 10 men. However, they conceded in the second minute of second-half injury time, dropping two valuable points.
There is a belief that Senne Lammens could have done a little better to prevent the goal, when Lisandro Martinez was outmuscled by Dominic Solanki. After the game, the Belgian provided his thoughts on United's inability to hold on to a lead.
Speaking to MUTV after the game, Lammens pointed out that football can sometimes be heartbreaking. He said: "Football can be a bit cruel at times. There are a lot of ups and downs, especially in a game like that."
"You have to survive the first half a little bit. We pulled together, and we didn't have our best game, especially on the ball, but we fought for it to give ourselves a chance to turn it around in the second half, which we did. We got ourselves into the position we wanted to be in."
This is the second time this season that United have failed to win despite the opposition going a man down, having already lost 1-0 to 10-man City last month. The Belgian lamented United's inability to see out the game on Saturday, continuing: "We've won a lot of games against 10 men [in the past], but you also know there can be a tricky situation when you're playing against 10 men, because they have nothing to lose and they know that."
"You want to be able to kill the game straight away and get another goal, or at least not give them any chances. I think that's what we did wrong."
"We gave them a little bit too much breathing room to create those chances, and then one ball has to go right for them, one bounce has to go their way, and they can score like that. So, yeah, it's a very bitter feeling."
Lammens went on to acknowledge that while the team did not have the best of games, it was a learning experience. He concluded: "You feel like those games just slip away from you, and there are one or two situations where you don't really have control."
"But it's easy to say that, and it's easy to speak like that, as if it's not our fault and something has just gone wrong. I think the easy answer is that we have to be able to kill the game faster and not put ourselves in that position to give them a chance."
"I think there's a lot to learn from today. It wasn't all negative, not at all, but especially the way it ended left a very bad feeling."
Source: Transfermarkt .
Lammens has endured a tough start to the new season after a blistering debut campaign at the Theatre of Dreams. United showed a lot of trust in the Belgian by allowing Andre Onana, Altay Bayindir and Radek Vitek to leave this summer, and he must step up now.
