London: Paul Pogba made an immediate impact on his return from surgery, earning a penalty converted by Bruno Fernandes that recovered for Manchester United a 1-1 draw at Tottenham in the English Premier League.
While the teams have endured three months without games in the pandemic, Pogba hasn’t played since December. And he entered only in the 63rd minute at an empty Tottenham Stadium on Friday with the hosts leading from Steven Bergwijn’s first-half strike through goalkeeper David de Gea.
But Pogba, whose United future has been mired in uncertainty, helped to inject some attacking dynamism United had been missing.
Pogba was bundled off the ball by Eric Dier and Fernandes netted his third penalty since joining United in January.
United was denied a second penalty when VAR overturned the decision to penalize Dier for another foul — this time on Fernandes.
United is three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea having played an extra game. But fifth place will clinch a Champions League spot if second-placed Manchester City’s two-year ban from Europe is upheld next month for breaking financial rules. Tottenham remained four points behind United.
The start of the game saw players immediately take a knee as part of the Black Lives Matter protests.
AP