Erik ten Hag’s men were clearly looking to put the recent 0-0 draw with Newcastle United behind them. The Reds peppered the visiting goal with 19 first-half attempts before breaking through with Fred’s strike just after halftime.
Fernandes’ brilliant curler capped a performance that was arguably the best by the team since Ten Hag took over in the summer.United got off to a fast start, with captain Fernandes setting the tone in a tight midfield battle by finding pockets of space between Tottenham’s central trio.
Speculative efforts from Antony and Diogo Dalot failed to trouble Hugo Lloris, before Rodrigo Bentacur flashed wide of David De Gea’s goal. Fernandes was the catalyst once more as United pounced on the north London club’s goal. As Spurs backtracked, his brilliant dummy set Antony free, allowing the tricky forward onto his left. The Brazilian curled a shot off Lloris’ left post, energising the crowd.
Only a string of excellent Lloris saves kept the score at 0-0. Marcus Rashford was put through on goal by Fred’s pinpoint pass, but his powerful shot lacked precision, allowing Lloris to save it. The Frenchman then worked tirelessly to prevent a Fernandes free-kick and a thunderous Luke Shaw volley from finding the back of the net. United fired 14 shots in a frantic 30 minutes that saw Bruno and Fred charge forward to support Rashford down the middle. We showed no signs of the slow build-up that was evident in our disappointing 0-0 draw with Newcastle, instead putting together a number of intricate passing moves around Spurs’ box.
Antony finished the half with a brilliant piece of skill that sent his two closest markers flailing into the air, before Harry Kane fired a shot straight at De Gea, a timely reminder of Tottenham’s counter-attacking threat. United’s efforts were rewarded just 76 seconds into the second half. There were 19 attempts in the first half to break down the Spurs’ door, and all it took was one nudge in the second. Fred’s willingness to sprint forward once more allowed him to get into a shooting position on the edge of the box, where he picked up a Sancho pass. His shot deflected off Ben Davies and trickled past the helpless Lloris for a 1-0 lead.
Rashford exploded into life after the restart, pummeling another shot at the Spurs goalkeeper. As Rashford, Fred, and Bruno continued to stifle the visitors’ attempts to play out from the back, United’s press forced Spurs deeper and into mistakes.
Kane began to drop deeper in an attempt to influence play, aided by Lisandro Martinez. The England striker had few chances all night, but he was in a good position to force De Gea into a save. The flag was raised, but referee Simon Hooper waved play on as United surged up the pitch.
It proved to be a critical junctur”. With a wicked curler beyond the diving Lloris, Bruno finally got the goal his performance deserved. Fred’s tenacity set up the second goal and almost set up a third, with Rashford lamenting the brilliance of Lloris, who swatted away a powerful drive. The offside flag stopped Rashford’s celebrations after he latched onto a defence-splitting pass and rounded Lloris with a classy dummy.
United had enough time to bring on Christian Eriksen against his former team, providing another bright spot for Ten Hag as he recovers from illness. Spurs posed little threat, as evidenced by Martinez’s crunching tackle on Kane just before the final whistle. The Reds put on a fantastic performance, with everyone putting in a memorable shift. Chelsea is up next!
