Thomas Frank expressed immense pride in his team’s performance, particularly their defensive resolve, after Tottenham played out a chaotic 2-2 draw with Manchester United.
The dramatic match saw Spurs come from behind in the final minutes, only for a late, late equaliser from United’s Matthijs de Ligt to deny them a precious three points.
Frank, whose side has faced recent questions over their home form, felt the result was difficult to swallow but praised the mentality his players showed to fight back.
“Of course, the emotions inside me are high,” Frank admitted. “When you’re in the moment and you think you’ve won it, you see all the positivity, everyone is happy, we’ve finally won at home… then that happens. It’s tough, it’s painful.”
However, the Dane was quick to look at the bigger picture, highlighting how little the Champions League-chasing visitors were allowed to create.
“We kept them to five shots in the entire game. That is on paper an unbelievable defensive performance,” he stated, seemingly dismissing the impact of United’s star attackers. “It’s just another example that it’s not that easy to create in the Premier League, even though they had all their big boys out there.”
The introduction of substitute Mathys Tel proved a game-changer, with the young forward netting the equaliser before Richarlison seemingly sealed the win in the 91st minute. Frank backed his tactical decisions, despite some fan discontent at Xavi Simons being taken off.
“Every single time I take a decision to sub a player it’s with one aim: to make the team win or get back into the game,” Frank insisted. “No doubt, Mathys did well, great goal, great involvement. We need a bit of freshness.”
Despite the disappointment of the 96th-minute equaliser, Frank maintains the club is moving forward, especially considering a lengthy injury list.
“We are searching to find the right balance up front,” he concluded. “To be able to compete okay in the Champions League, compete okay in the Premier League, where we were last year, and also the amount of injuries still—I think that is quite good. The positive today was the players’ reaction, the mentality, and the focus to keep going, doing the right thing.”