Alan Shearer lays into United’s big money summer signing after disappointing showing against Spurs

Matthijs de Ligt’s last gasp leveler at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ensured Manchester United left North London with a share of the spoils, stretching their unbeaten run to five games in the process. It appeared United were destined for all three points but a manic last 10 minutes saw Spurs turn the game on its head before conceding to De Ligt deep into stoppage time. United did have opportunities to add to their one goal lead before the chaos but the final 2-2 score line was probably a fair reflection of the two sides respective showings on the day. Benjamin Sesko was guilty of missing a couple of presentable chances in the later stages after coming on as a second half substitute with United a goal to the good. As reported by The Mirror, Sesko has since been criticised by Alan Shearer for his performance, which lasted just over 25 minutes due to a knee injury which forced him off with five left on the clock. Early struggles for summer signing Speaking on Match of the Day, Shearer believes Sesko should have grabbed a goal on Sunday and feels the Slovenian is struggling to adapt to life as United’s centre-forward. “Sesko struggled again. He’s only scored twice in his 12 appearances and he came on today with just over half an hour to go. He had two really, really good chances and should have scored, to be honest,” he said. Two chances came the big striker’s way with the second a lot more gilt-edged than the first which was carved out by Mason Mount with the score at 1-0. Sesko still had a lot to do from Mount’s through ball but failed to get a shot away and was then caught by Micky Van de Ven despite being clean through on goal after Spurs equaliser, which would have restored United’s lead with just minutes to play. Shearer claims the United man should have done better with both chances and broke down the opportunities in his post match analysis. “They worked it really well for him to get in the first time. He’s either got to get his shot away early or he’s got to push that ball forward quicker. He’s not going to get that amount of time in the Premier League to work it back on his right foot. “This one [the 85th-minute chance] is the bigger puzzle for me. I know he’s struggling for confidence, but any centre-forward knows you cannot allow the centre-half to come back at you. “You’ve got to get across Van de Ven. By that time he should have a picture in his head of where the keeper is and what he wants to do. I don’t think he has a clue what he wants to do,” said Shearer. Positives and negatives Whilst it’s undeniable Sesko should have done better with at least one of the two moments, United did carve out more opportunities with the 22-year-old on the pitch. The big man does give United a focal point and allows runs beyond the last line whilst he occupies defenders both in the air and on the ground. He was unlucky not to set Bryan Mbeumo away from a neat aerial flick that underlined his ability to make chances for his teammates, who are more comfortable in front of goal at present. Despite his slow start in terms of numbers, there is no doubt Amorim sees the worth in his new man and will be determined to get the best out of him when he returns from injury. The United head coach admitted he had no idea how much damage Sesko has done to his knee and would be awaiting the results of medical reports. However today’s reports on the injury are encouraging and the good news for Sesko is the international break will allow him a decent amount of time to recover before United return to action on November 24th, at home to Everton. Featured image Julian Finney via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Conner Botterill Conner Botterill has been with The Peoples Person for three years. A keen match-going red with degrees in Sport and Journalism and Philosophy and Psychology through the Open University. His favourite match attended was the Champions League victory in Paris under one the guidance of one of his idols, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Conner still believes he has a chance of making United’s first team through his 5-a-side career.