Ralf Rangnick has made no secret of his greatest demand for Manchester United in his short time as interim manager.
In his first press conference as United manager back in December, he sat in the press room in the Bobby Charlton Stand and kept returning to the idea of 'control'. In the space of half an hour he talked about that concept and United’s failure to embrace it on at least half-a-dozen occasions.
In the three months that have followed, Rangnick’s success has often been judged on whether United have managed to find that control, but as he returned to that press room on Saturday for the first time since his introductory press conference, it was to toast a victory once again built on chaos.
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There have been times under Rangnick where United have managed to find that control of games that the German craves, notably in the 1-0 wins against Crystal Palace and West Ham and the 0-0 draw with Watford. But those aren’t entirely convincing results. United have sought control against mediocre opposition and have sometimes found it, but they’ve also failed to beat Newcastle, Wolves, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough, Burnley, Southampton and Watford.
While there’s clearly a happy medium to be sought between control and chaos, United haven’t really found it. Manchester City and Liverpool might have control as well as end product, but when Rangnick’s team have attempted to command games they have often looked fairly dull and uninspiring in doing so, struggling to either create chances or take them, resulting in tight games against opposition they should be making shorter work of.
When games have been hectic United have often thrived. The win on Saturday was the third time they've won 3-2 this season and they also won 4-2 against Leeds recently.
The comeback 2-1 win against Villarreal was also a night when United fought fire with fire and the early season eviscerations of Leeds and Newcastle at Old Trafford were occasions when the opposition were emboldened at times.
United could have sought to take more control against Spurs, but they opted for a more open, uncontained game. The wing-backs in Antonio Conte's system, in Matt Doherty and Sergio Reguilon, were a regular threat and had plenty of space to attack, which created space for runs inside for Son-Heung Min and Dejan Kulusevki.
Rangnick finally tried to put a stop to that by bringing Victor Lindelof on and switching to a back three, only for Tottenham to make it 2-2 while the Swede waited on the touchline. The fact Rangnick waited so long to make the change suggests he was willing to gamble United's openness on their ability to exploit vulnerabilities in Spurs' defence.
Had United really wanted to control this game then Rangnick would have started with a back three, or switched systems earlier. Instead, he found himself embracing the chaos and being swept along on the rollercoaster.
In that first press conference, he discussed United's 3-2 win against Arsenal at Old Trafford the night before. It was another wild, thrilling game, but Rangnick admitted he had no idea if it would finish 3-2 or end up 3-3 or 4-2 in the closing stages. As entertaining as the game was, he deemed it "not the game you need every day."
But this fixture against the Premier League's other north London side was remarkably similar, in that it did feel like either team could have won it. Maybe Rangnick has realised that there's little point trying to control a club that seems so energised amid chaos.
It seems to be working, for now. Even Rangnick, the man who promised to bring control to Old Trafford, was enjoying it on Saturday.
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