Jenas praises Tottenham for showing 'REAL character' in Man Utd draw
‘They showed REAL character’: Jermaine Jenas heaps praise on Tottenham after their two-goal comeback against Manchester United as the former Spurs midfielder insists Harry Kane ‘dragged them back into it’ with a ‘leader’s performance’
- REPORT: Spurs finally show some backbone to rescue 2-2 draw with Man United
- Second-half goals from Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min completed turnaround
- Jenas was delighted with the ‘character and spirit’ shown by his former club
Tottenham showed ‘real character’ to fight back from 2-0 down and secure a point against Manchester United on Thursday night, says Jermaine Jenas.
Ryan Mason’s first game in caretaker charge of Spurs got off to a disastrous start when goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford saw them head in at the break trailing United by two goals.
Yet whatever Mason said to his side during the interval paid off in the second half, with Pedro Porro first pulling one back shortly after the restart before Son Heung-min swept home Harry Kane’s cross to complete the comeback with 11 minutes remaining.
Four days on from their astonishing capitulation at Newcastle, which saw them concede five goals inside 21 minutes and sack interim boss Cristian Stellini after an eventual 6-1 defeat, Spurs produced a gutsy turnaround having fallen behind once again.
While they failed to pick up all three points, Jenas was proud of the recovery from his old side – and singled out Kane for a ‘real leader’s performance’ on the night.
Tottenham fought back from two goals down to snatch a point against Man United on Thursday
United led 2-0 at the break after goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford (pictured)
But a second-half fightback from Spurs eventually saw Son Heung-min turn home the leveller
Jermaine Jenas was delighted with his former club’s recovery and singled out Harry Kane (pictured) for special praise
‘It was a fantastic moment and a big moment for the team, the ability to come back into after the first half,’ the former Spurs midfielder said on BT Sport.
‘They showed real character. [Mason] made big decisions, taking Richarlison off, but that man there (Kane), the captain, he led by example. He dragged them back into it and got the decisive assist. A real leader’s performance.
‘They (fans) arrived baying for blood, but leave thinking there’s something here for them.’
When analysing their comeback further, Jenas continued: ‘I think it was a group of players coming together and finding a way to little steps forward in the game.
‘Win a tackle, try and create an opportunity when you have someone like Kane who can soak up the pressure. He has arguably had one of his best Tottenham seasons given the circumstances, and I think he just turned it on in that second half.
‘I don’t think the United substitutions were not good. The minute [Christian] Eriksen went off the supply line stopped.
‘But fair play to Spurs for character and spirit. It’s been kind of their season, hasn’t it. They showed a reaction, they had to. It was a fabulous goal by Porro. They have a lot of good attacking players out there.
‘[But] I think for United they will be disappointed they let it get away from them.’
Jenas felt the north London club finally showed ‘character and spirit’ to turn the game around
United still sit six points clear of Tottenham up in fourth place with two games-in-hand, though they now trail Newcastle in third by two points after their second-half collapse.
However, former Red Devils centre-back Rio Ferdinand was impressed by the resolve Spurs showed in the game and commended Mason for inspiring the turnaround.
‘Yeah, you don’t come back like that without being a collective’ Ferdinand said. ‘It’s not one individual that gets you over the line. They could have crumbled.
‘He (Mason) has gone in and gathered the troops and really gone for it and got what their aims were at half time after such a disappointing game previously.’
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