Tottenham draw at Manchester United as De Zerbi's Bentancur kiss steals the story

Roberto De Zerbi said he kissed Rodrigo Bentancur in the dressing room after the midfielder was sent off in the 78th minute at Old Trafford, and that image ended up defining Tottenham's 1-1 draw at Manchester United. Dominic Solanke rescued the point with a 90'+2 minute equaliser. It was a strange way to leave Manchester United vs Tottenham, but it told you where De Zerbi's head is right now.

De Zerbi's reaction to Bentancur

De Zerbi did not try to dress it up. Speaking to goal.com, he said: "We have to not accept conceding a goal. We have to react in all ways we can. It's a bad way, it's not the right way, but I kissed Bentancur in the dressing room because we need this reaction, this type of reaction with character. Football is character."

That message fit the other quote he gave after the game, when he said Tottenham "show we are a team for the first time this season". Bentancur's numbers help explain why the manager singled him out. He has made 6 Premier League appearances and played 384 minutes, so this was not a one-off appearance from the bench. His season rating of 6.21 is hardly glamorous, but he has been in the middle of Tottenham's midfield rather than on the edge of it.

Tottenham's point does not erase the start

The point at Old Trafford stopped the bleeding, but it does not change Tottenham's league start. They failed to win any of their opening five Premier League matches and sit 20th with 2 points, with a 0-2-3 record. That is still the story around them, whatever the reaction looked like after Bentancur's dismissal.

De Zerbi's praise for the response is understandable, though. Tottenham stayed in the game after the red card, and Solanke's late finish at least gave them something to take home. His 262 league minutes this season are not a huge load, which makes the stoppage-time goal a timely moment for him and for a side that badly needed one.