Manchester United had three weeks to regroup and work on their disappointing start to the season, but Michael Carrick's side showed little sign of improvement as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Tottenham Hotspur, who entered the match at the bottom of the Premier League table. The result will do little to ease the growing concerns surrounding United's performances.

United's inability to capitalise on playing against 10 men has become a recurring problem, this being the third consecutive match in which they have failed to beat a side reduced to 10 players. Tottenham were arguably the more threatening team in the opening 45 minutes and could have taken a commanding lead if they had been more clinical in front of goal.

The first half ended goalless, but United began to find their feet after the interval. Their breakthrough finally came in the 73rd minute, when Bryan Mbeumo found space inside the penalty area and fired a low shot across goal into the bottom corner to put the hosts 1-0 up.

United seemed to have been handed an even bigger chance to see out the game when Rodrigo Bentancur received a red card for headbutting Luke Shaw. Yet, despite having the numerical advantage, Carrick's men once again failed to finish the job, echoing their struggles against Manchester City. Spurs took full advantage of United's failure to put the game beyond reach, with Tonali's cross finding Dominic Solanke, who escaped Lisandro Martínez before flicking the ball past the goalkeeper. The late equaliser earned Tottenham a point and left United frustrated after another missed opportunity to claim all three points.

It looked like Manchester United were on course to secure a crucial three points, until Solanke headed home from a Sandro Tonali cross to bring the scores level and head back to London with a point.

Crosses have been an issue for United for some time, with Senne Lammens revealing post-match that Michael Carrick has been trying to fix the problem.

When speaking on United's defensive problems, the Belgian keeper said, "I think sometimes in the end it comes down to maybe here and there, maybe a mistake from someone, but it doesn't really start with that.

"I think it's a team thing. The manager has been hammering a lot about defending as a team, being able to put pressure on the opposition team, especially on the crosses.

"And I think today was better, but then you see in the end, one good cross and one good header, and you can lose the game like that, or the win can go away like that.

Boos rang around Old Trafford at the full-time whistle as they blew a much-needed win on Saturday night against Spurs, and Michael Carrick won't have much time to reflect on the poor result, as Man Utd face three fixtures in the span of eight days.

United face three away trips on the bounce, starting on the 13th with a trip to the Spanish capital to face Atletico Madrid, then facing Leeds United at Elland Road on the 18th, and Como on the 21st.

Speaking on the club's run of fixtures and how the squad can bounce back, the 24-year-old said, "I mean, you can look at it both ways, to be honest. We know there are a lot of games coming very fast.

"After a disappointment, you can take that disappointment with you, or you can get it changed real quick and know there's a game coming up very quickly.

"For me personally, if I maybe don't have the best game, I'm looking forward to the next game to get that sour feeling out of my mouth, so I think that's the feeling we have to get.

"We know we showed a lot of good things as well today, so take those things and learn from the bad things. There are a lot of very important games, but we also love to play those games.

"We fought last year to be in the Champions League, so we're very happy to be there. And if you want to go far in that competition as well, you have to win those games as well."