MANCHESTER, England -- The Manchester United fans who turned up at Old Trafford on Saturday hoping to enjoy themselves at Manchester City's expense left disappointed. They've got too many of their own problems for that.
The chants of "You cheating bastards, you know what you are" were loud before kickoff against Tottenham Hotspur. And when United overcame a largely nervous, disjointed performance to take the lead through Bryan Mbeumo midway through the second half, the home fans allowed themselves a dig at Spurs with a chant of "You're going down with the City."
But by the time referee Stuart Attwell blew the final whistle, United fans had long forgotten the scandal that has engulfed their neighbors. As they streamed out of the stadium, they were preoccupied with how and why Tottenham -- down to 10 men after Rodrigo Bentancur's red card for head-butting Luke Shaw -- had managed to score a 92nd-minute equalizer to pick up a 1-1 draw.
Michael Carrick was at a loss, too.
"Massively disappointed with the result for sure," he said afterward. "A mixed performance, to be totally honest. I think it was tough. It was challenging for the first period, definitely.