Bryan Mbeumo has urged his Manchester United team-mates to maintain their fighting spirit after salvaging a draw against Tottenham on Saturday – and says he told them to “stay in the game” at 2-1 down. United were initially ahead at half-time courtesy of Mbeumo’s clever header, but for the second occasion in eight days they surrendered a one-goal advantage and found themselves trailing 2-1 as the match entered its final stages.

Just as they managed at Nottingham Forest the previous week, United rescued a point through Matthijs de Ligt‘s late header, ensuring they returned from the capital with something to show for their efforts. Mbeumo’s first-half strike means the forward has now netted four times in his last four appearances for United, and he shared his thoughts on the result following the final whistle.

“It was a big drama but in the end we managed to come back late in the game and if we can’t win, don’t lose. We knew it was going to be hard in the second half, they were going to push,” Mbeumo told TNT Sports.

“But before the first goal we conceded, we played a very good game. Very solid, but we still have to work on the goals we concede.

“I tried to talk to the guys and tell them to stay in the game. It was five minutes to go, we know anything can happen and I think we all have a very strong mentality now to come back and that’s what we have done. It builds confidence when we don’t lose.”

Mbeumo added: “It is always easier inside the pitch, outside the pitch, on the training ground so everyone is enjoying it a lot and we are going to try and build this as long as possible.

“Obviously it (United) is a lovely place to play, to develop, and I have got great team-mates who are helping me and I think everybody is working really hard and it makes the job for everybody easier.”

The stalemate with Spurs leaves United on a five-match unbeaten run in the Premier League. Following the November international break, they face Everton at home, before heading to Crystal Palace and then hosting West Ham.

Manchester United were denied a chance to move up to second in the Premier League table but continued their unbeaten streak in dramatic style in a 2-2 draw at Tottenham. United had led 1-0 as late as the 83rd minute but not long after looked poised to lose 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium due to late Spurs goals from Mathys Tel and Richarlison until Matthijs de Ligt denied the hosts victory.

Bryan Mbeumo’s close-range header punished poor Spurs defending to put the Red Devils in front after 32 minutes. But Spurs substitute Tel produced a fine touch and finish in the 84th minute and then Richarlison headed in a minute into stoppage time to spark raucous scenes. Yet despite going down to 10 men due to injury, United produced a brilliant response with centre-back De Ligt saving a point in the 96th minute. Express Sport rates and slates the United players as they drew in the capital…

Man Utd player ratings vs Tottenham

Senne Lammens – 8

Recovered from early error and made brilliant saves to deny Sergio Romero and Joao Palhinha in the second half. Could do nothing about the goals.

Matthijs de Ligt – 7

Defended his box well until he got done by Mathys Tel, whose shot deflected off the Dutchman and in. Made amends with a towering stoppage-time header to make it 2-2.

Harry Maguire – 7

A solid return to the team was ended prematurely by a hamstring injury that saw him limp off with 18 minutes to go.

Luke Shaw – 6

Bailed out by Lammens after Romero got into a goalscoring position but still a good performance overall. Helped make space for De Ligt to score from a corner at the death.

Noussair Mazraoui – 6

A solid enough 58-minute outing on his return to the starting XI.

Casemiro – 7

Another match where the Brazilian led by example in the middle, breaking up play multiple times before being replaced.

Bruno Fernandes – 5

Helped win the ball in the lead-up to the opening goal with his pressing but well below his level generally, regularly getting caught on the ball. Had a good chance to make it 2-0 that he fired over the bar. Comes away with an assist for the corner at the end.

Patrick Dorgu – 5

Defended fairly well against Brennan Johnson but sorely needs to improve his end product going forward. His crosses are so wasteful. Booked.

Amad Diallo – 7

Moved out of the right wing-back role and supplied a clever floated cross for the Mbeumo header and some great passes. Might have done more to stop the cross for the Spurs equaliser but still one of United’s best.

Matheus Cunha – 5

Played centrally over Benjamin Sesko but really struggled. Held on to the ball too long and then lost possession far too many times.

Bryan Mbeumo – 7

Deployed out of his natural position on the left wing but scored a controlled header for his sixth goal in a United shirt and produced some really intelligent touches and contributions. Just a very good footballer.

Substitutes

Benjamin Sesko (Mazraoui 58) – 5

Should have done better with a late chance but allowed Micky van de Ven to get back. Picked up a knock in the same moment that forced him off and left United down to 10 men.

Mason Mount (Cunha 72) – 6

Should have had an assist after releasing Sesko.

Leny Yoro (Maguire 72) – 6

Moved to centre-forward as United chased

Manuel Ugarte (Casemiro 72) – 6

Left Richarlison onside for the late winner.

Diogo Dalot (Dorgu 80) – N/A

Lewis Hamilton has avoided a grid penalty despite being found guilty of failing to slow for yellow flags during qualifying for the Sprint race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. It happened during the second part of Friday’s session after team-mate Charles Leclerc span off track.

Cameras on board Hamilton’s Ferrari showed him going through that section of the Interlagos track but without showing any sign of slowing down. Double-waved yellow flags require drivers to slow down and be prepared to stop, but the seven-time world champion failed to do so as he tried to reach the start-finish line.

The stewards have confirmed that Hamilton broke the rules and failed to slow sufficiently for those yellow flags. But instead of a grid penalty, the stewards decided that a reprimand – the 40-year-old’s first of the season – was punishment enough.

They explained: “Towards the end of Q2, Car 16 [Leclerc] spun at the exit of turn 10, triggering double waved yellow flags. Shortly afterwards, Car 44 [Hamilton] approached the same corner and was just turning in when the double yellow light panels were activated on the left-hand side of the track.

“During the hearing, HAM explained that he did not see the light signal. The onboard footage confirms that the signal was only illuminated for a fraction of a second before HAM passed it. As the driver’s focus was clearly on the turn-in-point, he was looking to the right-hand side of the track, thus the Stewards find it credible that he did not actually perceive the signal.

“However, HAM acknowledged during the hearing that he saw LEC stationary at the side of the track and could see a green light signal being displayed beyond that point. He therefore had to realise that he was at least in a yellow sector and as a consequence had to reduce speed discernibly.

“Looking into the telemetry, the stewards found that the driver reacted by hesitating whilst applying the throttle, but did not reduce speed as required. In similar circumstances in the past, the Stewards have deemed it appropriate to impose a reprimand rather than the standard five-place grid penalty specified in the guidelines. In terms of consistency, the stewards consider a reprimand to be sufficient in this case as well.”

It means Hamilton will start Saturday’s Sprint from 11th place – because he failed to make it to the start-finish line, the Brit did not managed to set a time quick enough to progress to SQ3. Lando Norris will start on pole with McLaren team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri third on the grid, while Max Verstappen had to settle for sixth.