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Manchester United were held to a 2-2 draw by Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, with Bryan Mbeumo among the standout performers in the dramatic draw

Manchester United were held to a 2-2 draw by Tottenham Hotspur in a thrilling Premier League clash on Saturday.

Bryan Mbeumo was once again the man of the moment, breaking the deadlock in the 32nd minute. The goal was set up beautifully by Amad, allowing United to take a one-goal lead into half-time.

Spurs came out fighting in the second half, desperate for an equaliser. Despite their struggles at home this season, they finally found a breakthrough courtesy of Mathys Tel. Richarlison thought he had sealed the deal in stoppage time, but Matthijs de Ligt had other ideas, netting in the 96th minute to snatch a point for United.

Here's how the United players were rated after Saturday's big game in north London...

Senne Lammens 6

He seemed a bit off at the start of the match but managed to regain his focus in the first half and kicked off the second half with two fantastic saves. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep out either of Spurs' goals.

Harry Maguire 5

Maguire was clearly fired up from the get-go, making a beeline for the away fans to show his appreciation. He put in a solid performance at the heart of the back three, making some crucial interceptions.

Matthijs de Ligt 6

Dutch manager Ronald Koeman has given Matthijs de Ligt a call-up to the national team for the upcoming international break. De Ligt certainly earned that recall, despite being partly to blame for the equaliser.

However, he made amends with a heroic header.

Luke Shaw 5

Shaw often ventured into midfield, which occasionally gave the formation the look of a back four. He had a decent game, but was still on the pitch when United let their lead slip.

Noussair Mazraoui 6

The aggressive pressing earned him praise from Amorim. It seemed unjust to substitute him in the 59th minute when Patrick Dorgu appeared to be the logical change.

Casemiro 5

He began the match with a few misplaced passes and was unable to secure victory for United.

Bruno Fernandes 5

He wasn't at his peak in the middle of the pitch. He appeared lethargic and didn't put up enough of a fight against Spurs' midfielders. He delivered the corner that led to De Ligt's goal.

Patrick Dorgu 4

He had difficulties during the first half. Despite replacing Diogo Dalot in the starting line-up, he still seems inexperienced and unconvincing. His final delivery around the box needs improvement.

Bryan Mbeumo 8

At times, he was unstoppable. He scored an excellent opening goal and now has four goals in his last five matches.

Amad 6

He obstructed Matheus Cunha, denying his teammate a scoring opportunity, but delivered a smart cross for Mbeumo's goal. He later switched to right wing-back.

Matheus Cunha 5

He was similar to Fernandes - not at his best against Tottenham. He received a yellow card at the start of the second half for kicking the ball away.

Subs.

Benjamin Sesko: Missed a couple of half chances. 4.

Manuel Ugarte: Allowed Pape Sarr to bypass him for Tottenham's goal. Feeble. 2.

Mason Mount: Gave it his all. 6.

Leny Yoro: Performed adequately after being brought on. 5.

Diogo Dalot: His first touch was heavy. 4.

Man Utd get out of jail with late goal to stun Tottenham after collapse - 5 talking points

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2-2MANCHESTER UNITED: Mathhijs de Ligt was the hero for the Red Devils as he denied Spurs a late comeback through Mathys Tel and Richarlison

Matthijs de Ligt silenced the Tottenham Hotspur stadium with a 95th-minute header to earn Manchester United a late point in a remarkable finish to the Premier League clash. The Dutchman struck to deny Spurs their own late comeback after Richarlison's goal minutes before, as the score ended 2-2.

It was Spurs who had the first chance of the match after 17 minutes. Brennan Johnson delivered a delightful cross for Richarlison, but the Brazilian misjudged his header, and the ball fell helplessly out of play.

Neither side was setting the game alight, but some subpar attacking and defending eventually offered United an opportunity. Amad stood the ball up for Bryan Mbeumo to head in at the back post in the 32nd minute.

Senne Lammens was forced into two good saves in the second period and Tottenham even had the ball in the net. Johnson strayed offside before providing the finishing touch, however.

An exquisite touch from Mathys Tel earned the Spurs star a moment of space in the box in the 84th minute. The former Bayern Munich star's shot deflected off Mattijs de Ligt and past Lammens to level the scores.

Richarlison finally found the net with his head in stoppage time. A smart flick in the box from a fierce Wilson Odobert shot looked to have earned the Lilywhites a win.

But the game was not yet finished. De Ligt denied Richarlison the joy of scoring the winner with a late effort of his own, with United even down to 10 men after Benjamin Sesko left the field injured.

Mirror Football takes a look at the talking points that arose from the match.

Man Utd record survives

United's 88-year-strong tradition of including an academy product in their squad continued on Saturday, after it came under threat following the injury to Kobbie Mainoo. The midfielder had been the lone representative before Tottenham but Jack Fletcher came into the side to keep the record alive.

It's an admirable tradition of remarkable length, and it will be reassuring to many that Amorim is happy to keep it alive. Amorim told TNT Sports: "We are in the moment where, if we are going to cut some corners to succeed right away, that's the wrong thing.

"There is something special in our club where we need to be bulletproof, with the way we behave and the way we operate the club. We are not going to stop with this and these academy players. It doesn't matter the result; it doesn't matter anything else.

"We need to continue with these small details that are the foundation of our club. We have that record; we are not going to break that record, and Jack is ready to help us.

"We do two things together - to show people that our academy is also our future and to also show that the players need to be ready, because we are going to need them at some point."

Benji benched

"I’m relaxed, he’s not relaxed," Amorim said of Benjamin Sesko in the build up to Tottenham. The 22-year-old was once again starved of start against Spurs.

The £74million signing has yet to convince his boss he is a key member of the starting line-up and had to wait almost an hour to get on the pitch in London. Amorim has suggested Sesko 'has more potential than I was thinking'.

Potential means little until it is realised, but the Portuguese coach has put the onus on the whole team to adapt to their new forward. "We need to understand how he likes to play and also to put in our ideas," he added.

Sesko showed flashes against Spurs but goals are what will guarantee his place. With plenty of contenders for a role in the front three, and Amad and Mbeumo impressing on the flanks, Sesko will have his work cut out in training.

If United keep getting on the scoresheet, the young forward will have plenty of time to settle in before the pressure ramps up. The forward will be cursing Micky van de Ven's fantastic tackle late in the game.

Sesko left the game injured in the dying moments.

Clean sheets

Going into the match against Spurs, United had managed just one clean sheet in 10 Premier League games. The Red Devils had allowed 16 goals against them in that period, but managed 17 of their own.

Plenty of ammunition for some entertainment, but a sense that Amorim's side are not quite ready to be a dominant force. Senne Lammens produced two fantastic second-half saves to give some sense that the United boss is nearer finding a promising spine to his team, however.

So long as he earns results, Amorim is unconcerned about keeping clean sheets. It's what they needed for three points on Saturday.

Tottenham need more fight?

Tottenham were winless in their last 18 Premier League games when conceding first and conceded first against United. That it took until the 54th minute for Spurs to have a shot on target tells a lot of the story.

Coming into the match, only Burnley had recorded fewer shots, and that is a problem for a team that wants to score goals. Tottenham have started the season much improved from last term, but risk coming unstuck if sides scoring against them rules out a win.

More fight required to come back into matches? Just more ambition to score. Too rarely are they placing bodies in the box. Are they lacking a forward? Certainly, the club's attacking struggles are placing the microscope on Thomas Frank. The decision to replace Xavi Simons when Spurs needed a goal received boos from the stands.

Spurs were much improved in the second period, and that sub seemed to pay off. They found some fight and some goals to take a late lead. But still, they must wait for a comeback win after De Ligt's goal

Top four chances

United may need more clean sheets, but Tottenham need more goals. Watching on Saturday, the Red Devils look more equipped to go out and earn three points by attacking.

With no European football and more time to prepare, it's advantage to United. As the season wears on, as Amorim can firmly focus on one competition.

A draw on Saturday was probably a fair result. That United's collapse came when they had 10 men on the field perhaps means they look slightly better prepared.

But for Spurs, at least they showed in the second period, when they have more ambition, they can score. For now, Tottenham are in third place and United are in seventh. It could be quite a battle for the Champions League.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium erupted into a chorus of boos when Thomas Frank decided to take off Xavi Simons during Saturday afternoon's clash against Manchester United. Mathys Tel replaced the 22-year-old attacking midfielder, whom the Lilywhites signed from RB Leipzig for £51.8m in the summer, in the final minutes of the match.

Shortly after replacing Simons, the 20-year-old striker then grabbed an equaliser. With his back to goal, Tel latched on to a cross from Destiny Udogie, peeled off Matthijs de Ligt, and smashed the ball past Senne Lammens.

Spurs pushed for a winner and, in the opening moments of stoppage time, Richarlison put Spurs ahead with a glancing header. The 28-year-old deflected a curled strike from Wilson Odobert, leaving the United goalkeeper rooted to the spot.

Richarlison wheeled away in celebration, and Frank looked as though he'd had the last laugh. But, in the dying embers, De Ligt redeemed himself with a brilliant header at the back post to salvage a point for the Reds.

While the Tottenham manager was subject to a smattering of boos throughout the game, he was spared by the home supporters at full-time. Frank reinvigorated his line-up with the substitution, having failed to test Lammens earlier in the match.

Speaking with reporters at Hotspur Way on Friday, the Dane leapt to the defence of Simons, who's struggled to impress since arriving in the Premier League. Frank said: "I think every player needs confidence. Every player does that. The best in the world, everyone.

"Some, when you go to a new club, I think it's a little bit more evident that it's not that easy just to hit the ground running, but the more confidence you get, the better you play, the more you play, the more relationships you find out to get with your teammates step by step.

"I agree, I think Xavi had a good performance. I think it was positive with a lot of bits. I still think it was a good step. I still think there's a lot of layers to be added to his game, but I was happy with his performance."

Frank also addressed his side's poor form at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Lilywhites have only won one of their six home games in the Premier League this season.

"It’s a big shirt to wear in many ways," went on the Dane. "It should be proud. It should be something you're really excited about, wearing this beautiful shirt, playing home and away.

"It shouldn't matter to play home. It should be a massive boost when we play at home. We should feel even more confident, even more aligned, even more willing to do everything.

"I understand that the stats are not too good over a long time. For me, now there's a new opportunity and a new opportunity we need to embrace in the best possible way - coming out there against a great Man Utd team that's in great form, it'll be a great game, and we'll do everything we can to get out on top."

Manchester United take on Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this afternoon and Martin Keown believes the Reds have the edge

Former Premier League defender Martin Keown has lauded Manchester United for their recent upturn in form and pinpointed how they could exploit Tottenham Hotspur in this afternoon's clash.

Ruben Amorim's squad will travel to west London to face a Spurs side that has had an inconsistent run of form on home turf - three defeats, one victory, and one draw. However, they have managed to maintain an unbeaten record when playing away.

On the other hand, United have only managed a single win on the road this season - a 2-1 triumph over Liverpool at Anfield. Despite a rocky start to their Premier League campaign, they've managed to build some momentum and are currently on a four-match unbeaten streak.

Keown is backing the Reds, highlighting two players as the key driving forces behind the team. "I feel Manchester United are just slightly ahead," Keown said on talkSPORT.

"Spurs are struggling to win a home game, I think it's only one win in five, but away from home, they've been quite magnificent. We have to say it's an improvement.

"I think finally the players have taken on board what the manager's asked them to do. I think it's from [Matheus] Cunha and [Bryan] Mbeumo, the amount of work they're doing is absolutely ridiculous.

"They retreat to the edge of their own box, they're able to get three players on the sides and what's happening is, if you're looking at Luke Shaw, he'll come out now, from the back three so go and press and then Amad on the right will form a back four.

"There's a lot of information for those players. It's taken them a hell of a lot time but now look at the number of chances that they're creating. I mean, they have eight shots on target against Arsenal at the start of the season."

He continued: "I think in the sum total since then, it's maybe eight from all the opponents Arsenal played since, so it gives you an idea this is a Manchester United side that seem to be improving but there's some way to go."

Keown also highlighted weaknesses where United could capitalise against Spurs.

"I've just sat down the last hour and watched the game last week against Chelsea and honestly, stop, start, no intensity, not pressing from the front," Keown highlighted.

"Thomas Frank, I've been impressed with him, there was an incident after the game where the players refused to shake his hand.

"I'm not even sure Thomas Frank should have been on the pitch at that point, because this might have worked at Brentford but when you're playing Chelsea, they're an nemesis team for Spurs, you think about when they denied them winning the league all those years ago.

"He probably shouldn't have been there, they were hurting and rightly so, but I like Thomas Frank. But there's an intensity or lack of intensity at home which they're suffering from at the moment."

Manchester United will look to continue their excellent form on the road when they take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League

Martin Keown has called out Thomas Frank for walking onto the pitch following Tottenham Hotspur's defeat to Chelsea. The Dane marched onto the field only to be snubbed by Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence.

Frank downplayed the incident in his post-match press conference, and he later claimed to have accepted an apology from the duo. Red mist descended over north London last weekend, with the humiliating defeat to Enzo Maresca's side highlighting the Lilywhites' poor home record in the Premier League.

Spurs have managed just three victories in their last 19 Premier League matches on home turf. Ange Postecoglou coached wins over Manchester United in February and Southampton in April.

Frank kicked off the new season with a commanding 3-0 home victory against Burnley. The Dane hasn't celebrated a home league win since, with Tottenham suffering defeats to Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Chelsea, while sharing the points with Wolves.

The Spurs boss will be desperate to fix this worrying pattern when he faces Ruben Amorim on Saturday afternoon. Speaking to talkSPORT, Keown addressed the north London outfit's problem.

As quoted by football.london, the Arsenal legend said: "It seems strange that Spurs are struggling to win a home game. I think it's only one win in five. Away from home, they've been quite magnificent.

"I've just sat down in the last hour and watched the game last week against Chelsea, and honestly, stop-start, no intensity, not pressing from the front. Thomas Frank, I've been impressed with him. There was an incident after the game where the players refused to shake his hands.

"I'm not even sure Thomas Frank should've been on the pitch at that point because that might've worked at Brentford, but when you're playing against Chelsea, their nemesis team, isn't it for Spurs – they denied them from winning the league all those years ago.

"He probably shouldn't have been there. They were hurting, and rightly so. I like Thomas Frank, but there's a lack of intensity at home, which they're suffering from at the moment."

Manchester United have been in excellent form, winning four of their last six matches. Amorim was named manager of the month in October for his efforts, while Bryan Mbeumo scooped up the player of the month award.

The red Devils have risen to eighth in the Premier League, with just two points separating them from Manchester City in second place. Keown added: "We have to say it's an improvement.

"Finally, the players are taking on board what the manager is asking them to do. [Matheus] Cunha and Mbeumo, the amount of work that they're doing is absolutely ridiculous.

"They retreat to the edge of their own box. They're able to get three players on the sides. And, also, what's happening is, if you look at Luke Shaw, he'll come out now from the back-three to go and press, and Amad on the right will form a back-four.

"So, there's a lot of information for those players. It seems to have taken them a hell of a long time, but now you look at the number of chances that they're creating.

"If you look at what happened to Arsenal at the start of the season, they had eight shots on target against Arsenal. I think since then, it's maybe eight from all the opponents that Arsenal have played since.

"So, that gives you an idea that this is a Manchester United team that is improving, but there's still some way to go."

Is Tottenham vs Man Utd on TV? Live stream details, kick-off time and team news

Tottenham completed the Premier League double over Manchester United last season but the Red Devils are returning to a rich vein of form domestically

Tottenham will host Manchester United on Saturday afternoon in the early kick-off as last season's Europa League finalists meet once again. The Red Devils have returned to form recently with three wins and a draw in their last four league games.

Highlights for Ruben Amorim's side include a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield and a 4-2 victory over Brighton at home.

The Manchester side will be hoping to right some wrongs after they were defeated 1-0 in their last meeting with Spurs in the Europa League final, which resigned them to a season with no European football

Meanwhile, the Lilywhites are flying high off a 4-0 win over FC Copenhagen in the Champions League midweek which has seen them climb to 7th in the European table.

A 1-0 loss to Chelsea is their most recent Premier League result but with both sides tied on 17 points in the domestic table, three points would be priceless for either team.

Here, Mirror Football has all the details on how you can tune into the clash and who could feature for both teams on Saturday.

What time does Tottenham vs Manchester United kick off?

Tottenham will kick off against Manchester United on Saturday, November 8 at 12:30pm. The game will be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Where can I watch Tottenham vs Manchester United?

UK fans can tune into the clash live on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate with coverage beginning at 11am. You can also stream the game live on discovery+.

Team news

United are close to being back to a fully fit squad after Harry Maguire returned to the bench against Nottingham Forest. The only confirmed absentee is Lisandro Martinez who is closing in on a return from a knee operation.

Meanwhile, Spurs have more injury issues to contend with. Lucas Bergvall was subsituted early in the club's 1-0 loss to Chelsea with concussion and remains a doubt for the early kick-off.

Thomas Frank's side have nine other stars confirmed out for the game including: James Maddison (ACL), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Dominic Solanke (ankle), Ben Davies (hamstring), Radu Dragusin (ACL), Yves Bissouma (ankle), Archie Gray (calf) and Kota Takai (quad).

Ferguson's famous speech quickly became part of Premier League history but it left two Man Utd stars in disagreement

Manchester United legends Roy Keane and Paul Scholes have disagreed on whether Sir Alex Ferguson's famous 'It's Tottenham' speech was necessary. As the two Premier League giants prepare to face each other on Saturday afternoon, fans may well be reminded of the speech Ferguson made during the fixture in 2001.

Both Keane and Scholes played in the iconic match where the Red Devils found themselves 3-0 down at halftime to Spurs in a shocking turn of events. When Ferguson came into the dressing room, he reportedly said simply: "Lads, it's Tottenham."

United came back in the second-half and won 5-3 so the short but sweet team talk definitely worked. However, Scholes didn't feel like it was fair for the legendary manager to discredit their opponents the way he did.

Speaking before Spurs' 1-0 win over United in the Europa League final in May, the former midfielder told TNT Sports: "I think it’s a bit derogatory to speak about such a great football club like that.

"We knew that most of the time we had the beating of Tottenham. We were always confident against them. I know there’s a lot said of, ‘It’s only Tottenham’ and that should be enough to win a game. But it isn’t. You’re playing against a very good team of footballers.

"They’ve had the upper hand against United, we’ve lost the last three. It’s not quite ‘just Tottenham’ any more."

Scholes was right not to underestimate Spurs that night as United watched on as Ange Postecoglou's side lift their first European troph since 1984. However, not everyone felt that Ferguson's words weren't the right fit for Spurs back in 2001.

Former club captain Keane was full of praise for Ferguson's words at the time, claiming the Scot knew exactly what the team needed to hear. Speaking at an event for his book, The Second Half, he said: "I played under good managers, bad managers.

"The top managers get a feel for the group, they know what you need. Whatever Alex Ferguson’s strengths and weaknesses, that was by far his biggest strength."

Highlighting the famous speech, Keane added: "It was Tottenham at home. I thought, ‘please don’t go on about Tottenham, we all know what Tottenham is about, they are nice and tidy but we’ll f****** do them’.

“He came in and said: ‘Lads, it’s Tottenham.’ And that was it. Brilliant. It could have been a European semi-final, it could have been Leeds away, it could have been a home League Cup tie – Alex Ferguson always had a feel of the group."

While both ex-Premier League stars disagreed over Ferguson's iconic speech, they'll both be rooting for United to get a priceless away win against Spurs this weekend.

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are due to face off in the Premier League on Saturday and one particular reunion will be at the centre of the top-flight clash

Tottenham's Premier League meeting with Manchester United this weekend will see manager Thomas Frank reunited with Bryan Mbeumo for the first time since the two men took different paths over the summer. Frank explored a move for Mbeumo after replacing Ange Postecoglou at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, only for the Cameroon star to opt for United.

Last season, Frank and Mbeumo were two big factors as former club Brentford finished 10th in the league. Mbeumo top-scored with 20 goals, the best single-season return of his career, while Frank shook off the loss of Ivan Toney to secure a comfortable mid-table finish.

Since moving to Old Trafford for up to £71million including add-ons, Mbeumo has established himself as a regular threat. He has five goals from 11 appearances in all competitions, four of those in the league, and his former boss Frank isn't surprised.

"Of course I'll step out of my role at Tottenham. When you work with a player for six years, you get a close relationship," the Danish coach said.. "To see him develop from being a young man, 19-year-old when he moved to London and Brentford and left six years later, going into one of the biggest clubs in the world with all that focus and the way he stepped up.

"For me, looking from the outside, maybe a little bit biased, I think he's been their best offensive player. He can create, he can score, he works hard, he's a team player. He's the perfect example, in my opinion, for a player what I call about attitude, confident but humble. He's a top player."

Mbeumo goes into Saturday's match fresh from winning the Premier League's Player of the Month award for October. He is United's first recipient of the award since Bruno Fernandes in March, and the first Cameroonian to win it since Joel Matip of Liverpool back in 2022.

This weekend marks the first meeting between United and Spurs since the Europa League final in May. On that occasion, Spurs came out 1-0 winners to secure Champions League qualification while ensuring their opponents have no European football this term.

"We have different characteristics in our team but we also have a lot of players that played last year. So we are a better team, we play better, we understand the game better," United boss Ruben Amorim told reporters when asked about what has changed since that final.

"I think we are more confident. We reached that final confident that we could win because we were doing well in Europe, but in this moment we play with a different confidence.

"We managed better the moments of the game, but if you remember that game they had that [one] shot on the goal, they won the game. I expect a different game, that we can play better but also to have a little bit of luck to help us win the game.”

Manchester United were beaten by Tottenham in the Europa League final last season and Leny Yoro says the Red Devils can look to put that result behind them this weekend

Leny Yoro believes Manchester United's clash with Tottenham offers them a chance to right the wrongs of their Europa League final defeat. Despite Ruben Amorim guiding United to a catastrophic 15th-place Premier League finish last term, the Red Devils battled through to the Europa League final and stood on the brink of silverware against Spurs.

Tottenham had not lifted a trophy since 2008, but they ground out a scrappy 1-0 victory at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao. The defeat condemned United to missing out on European football for just the second occasion since English sides returned to UEFA competitions following a five-year exile in 1990.

This weekend marks the first meeting between the sides since that painful night in Spain. Yoro said: "I think the team now is in good momentum.

"We drew the last game, but before this we won, I think, three games in a row. We know we can do better than last game, but we're still in good momentum.

"We're still confident. Like you said, this game against Tottenham will be important for us to go into the international break with three points. This is going to help us to be in the top of the league, so we need to win this game."

When asked about seeking revenge, he responded: "Yes, everyone knows what happened in the final, so I think this game can be a good game for us to prove that maybe the final can have another result. Every game is important for us. This one is not more important than the other one, but we want to win every game."

He added: "Yes, it was important for us, I think, for Champions League next year, so this year, but now we cannot change nothing. We have one game a week now.

"So I think it helped us a little bit to work more on the things that were not good last year. We have more time to work now, but of course everyone wants to play Champions League, so this final is important for us, so this year we need to do better.

"We are the same team, so I'm not going to say we're a better team, but we can see on the result that there are some things we do better. Of course, we had some new players.

"And they give everything they have to help us to be better also. We're the same team, but with a different spirit sometimes, I think, and with more work time."

Following their Europa League triumph, Ange Postecoglou was dismissed as Tottenham manager despite the silverware, after a disastrous 17th-place Premier League finish saw the club turn to Thomas Frank as his successor.

Spurs currently occupy sixth spot in the table and delivered an impressive 4-0 victory against Copenhagen in their midweek Champions League fixture.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's company Ineos have reportedly come to a settlement with Tottenham Hotspur, after the latter filed a legal challenge against the company

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's firm, Ineos, has reportedly agreed to cough up over £11million to swiftly settle a lawsuit with Tottenham Hotspur. The company, owned by the Manchester United co-owner, was accused of breaching a five-year minimum contract worth £17.5m that allowed Tottenham to promote the firm's Grenadier as the club's "official 4X4 vehicle partner."

The deal was thought to have been inked in 2022, but Ineos had been partnered with Spurs since they were dubbed the club's "official hand-sanitiser supplier" during the Covid-19 outbreak. Tottenham called time on their deal with Ratcliffe's company in March and initiated legal proceedings three months later.

They claim an annual instalment exceeding £5m was not paid on December 1, having already allegedly missed an inflation-related payment of around £500,000.

According to the Telegraph, the total sum paid to Spurs remains under wraps, but a source close to the matter suggested the agreed amount was about half what the north Londoners were seeking. Furthermore Spurs were after nearly £5.3m in damages when the deal was terminated with more than two years left on the clock. Shortly thereafter, Ineos hit back by counter-suing Spurs for over £1m.

They pointed the finger at the north Londoners for engaging in sponsorship talks with Audi, which were tied to Harry Kane's potential transfer to Bayern Munich. Ineos stated: "On or around 3 August 2023 (i.e. early in contract year two), Todd Kline of the club indicated to Ashley Reed of Ineos that the club had been in discussions with the German car manufacturer Audi AG in connection with rights which were the same as, or substantially similar to, the rights granted to Ineos under the agreement and/or the club had been negotiating with Audi in respect of rights which were exclusive to Ineos under clause 4 of the agreement.

"According to Mr Kline, the discussions and/or negotiations related to a proposed transfer of the club's player Harry Kane to the German club FC Bayern Munich."

Ineos' defence also claimed the commercial partnership had "not materialised" before stating "this sequence of events ultimately resulted in the parties agreeing that Ineos could terminate the agreement with effect from the end of year three of the contract term”

They firmly stated: "In the circumstances, it is the club which owes Ineos more than £1m for failing to provide any rights to Ineos in the final part of year three."

Spurs acknowledged holding commercial discussions with Audi, but rejected suggestions these talks gave Ineos the right to terminate their agreement, given that Tottenham never finalised a deal with the German car manufacturer. Tottenham maintain the arrangement with Ineos "involved annual payments starting at £2.125m in year one and increasing to £4.6m in year five, all plus VAT and index-linked to the rate of inflation" and that they would be pursuing interest "further or other relief as the court thinks fit".

At the time, an Ineos spokesperson said: "Ineos Automotive was a partner of Tottenham Hotspur from 2022, expanding on a partnership agreement that Ineos Group had in place with the club since 2020. We had a contractual right to terminate our partnership contract and in December 2024 exercised that right."

Ineos have severed links with numerous major sports teams they had been backing. They have already ended partnerships with Ben Ainslie's sailing squad and the New Zealand All Blacks rugby union side.

In February, the Telegraph also reported the latter were launching legal action, claiming their agreement, which was expected to run until 2027, was terminated prematurely, despite a contract being in place.

Ineos have argued they have been compelled into cost-cutting due to "extreme" green carbon taxes in Europe. Ratcliffe has pointed the finger at escalating energy prices and taxes as the reasoning behind the firm's decision to shut down their synthetic ethanol plant in Grangemouth, Scotland. This move resulted in the loss of 80 direct roles and an additional 500 indirect jobs.