Michael Carrick must immediately end Man United experiment after Tottenham expose major problem

Manchester United produced another worrying performance as they were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Tottenham Hotspur.

It was a largely flat and lethargic performance from United, who were fortunate not to go behind in the first half when Spurs fired a barrage of attempts at Senne Lammens' goal. In fact, Michael Carrick's men created just 0.05 xG to Tottenham's 0.95 in the opening 45 minutes.

Roberto De Zerbi's side then went a goal down against the run of play when Bryan Mbeumo fired home in the 73rd minute. Shortly after, Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for colliding heads with Luke Shaw, and it seemed as though the hosts would hold onto three points.

But Dominic Solanke popped up with a goal in the second minute of added time after missing a golden chance in the first half to rescue a point for his team and hand the hosts a familiar sinking feeling.

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Man United cannot play Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo together

Two more points dropped at Old Trafford only piled further pressure onto Carrick, who was arguably at fault tactically against the Lilywhites.

For the fifth Premier League game running, he started with a double pivot of Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo in midfield.

Technically, both are excellent at controlling possession and spotting forward passes, but as a pairing they lack the energy and tenacity required to compete in England's top flight.

Tielemans and Mainoo were bullied by Tottenham's midfield three of Conor Gallagher, Sandro Tonali and Lucas Bergvall, while Bruno Fernandes' lack of aggression without the ball gave them space to drive into.

Reacting to the performance of United's engine room, many fans urged Carrick to end the experiment of playing Tielemans and Mainoo together.

"I've seen enough. Mainoo and Tielemans won't work long-term," one supporter wrote, while a second noted: "Not sure how much of United's out-of-possession issues are structural vs how much of it is just Youri Tielemans."

"Not really getting Tielemans. He's kind of Christian Eriksen Mk2, isn't he? Good player but... meh," a third commented.

"Him and Mainoo play football like they’re hungover with bricks on their feet," a fourth brutally stated.

Paul Scholes warned how difficult Tielemans could find living up to expectations at United, and already, fans are questioning his place in the starting lineup.

Fortunately for Carrick, the solution to the problem is staring him in the face, and that was evident when Carlos Baleba came on for his Man United debut after replacing the Belgian international on the hour mark.

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How Carlos Baleba performed on his Man United debut

Baleba has had to be patient since completing his £70million transfer from Brighton this summer.

The Cameroonian suffered an ankle injury before he joined the club, and Carrick knew he wouldn't be available until after the international break.

The 22-year-old instantly demonstrated his talents in his 31-minute cameo against Spurs, notably his aggression to win the ball back and ability to protect an ageing back line.

He was also tidy in possession, as he completed 16 of his 18 passes (89%) and made two key passes, the joint-second most of any player on the pitch.

Baleba could now start United's Champions League showdown with Atletico Madrid in midweek, and if he can continue to showcase his defensive prowess in midfield, he should cement his place in the lineup ahead of Tielemans.