Tottenham 1-3 Manchester United Match Report
By Sam Lavender
It was a mild afternoon at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium as Tottenham welcomed Manchester United to their new home for the second time since moving in. United arrived seeking revenge after Jose Mourinho’s side humiliated Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford in October when Harry Kane and Heung Min-Son got themselves two goals each.
Spurs went into the game knowing a win would keep them well within the reaches of Champions League football however defeat and another flat performance would leave a lot to be desired. Manchester United knew that victory in North London would all but confirm their place among Europe’s elite next season.
It was a cagey start with both sides testing the water early on. United had the first opening of the game, Edinson Cavani found Marcus Rashford in the box but his strike was expertly blocked by Eric Dier. Moments later Cavani was involved again, this time he thought he had given the red devils the lead with a well-timed run and finish from Paul Pogba’s pass however referee Chris Kavanagh controversially ruled the goal out after conversing with VAR following a flailing arm from Scott McTominay on Son. The South Korean superstar seemed to make the most of the minimal contact which left Ole and United frustrated. Son rubbed salt into the fresh Man united wounds when he finished off a smooth Tottenham counter attack just a few minutes later. Lucas Moura put it on a plate for Son who calmly beat Dean Henderson.
United fought back however to close the gap on league leaders and rivals Manchester City with one of their traditional much improved second half performances. Brazilian Fred scored his first goal in over a year finishing off a neat move after Hugo Lloris had saved from Cavani’s shot. Fred started the move and carried on his run to finish it with the Tottenham defenders caught ball watching and not reacting quickly enough. Cavani did get his goal with ten minutes to go, his smart movement again causing problems for Tottenham as the Uruguayan lost his men in the righthand side of the spurs box to head home substitute Mason Greenwood’s cross. It was a goal thoroughly deserved for him and United who had Tottenham on the ropes for the majority of the second half. It was a similar story for Tottenham who had let another lead slip and had left it too late to try and get something from the game. Gareth Bale came on to try and rescue a point or perhaps more, and he nearly did when he glanced on Son’s corner only to see his header hit the post via a deflection. The visitors wrapped up the three points deep into stoppage time, Pogba was the architect this time skipping through tired Tottenham challenges all too easily. The Frenchman found Mason Greenwood who beat Sergio Reguilon and smashed the ball past Lloris with the last kick of the game. It’s more dropped points from winning positions for Mourinho and his Tottenham team, as the pressure is piling on the Portuguese manager. Manchester united on the other hand have opened up a seven point gap between them and Leicester and now have the champions league place within touching distance. As for Tottenham its more disappointment added on from last week’s draw at Newcastle. Mourinho knows he is running out of time if he is to secure European football at Tottenham for next season. United will look to build in this result when they play Granada next
