Manchester United defeated Tottenham Hotspur by a comfortable 3-0 scoreline at their home ground. It was an act of redemtion by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who repaid the trust of the fans and the authority by winning this crucial game.
United moved to the fifth spot in the table and are having the same points as West Ham United while playing a game more than them. The defeat proved to be too costly for Tottenham.
Solskjaer needed to answer after his side’s embarrassing loss against Liverpool and they answered it so well against Spurs.
The game was looking promising from the moment the match line-up was announced. Manchester United switched to a back three and moved Luke Shaw and Wan-Bissaka further up the field.
Varane’s return boost Solskjaer’s options in defense and this change in formation worked wonders for the Red Devils and it proved to be a nightmare for Tottenham Hotspur.
The game was evenly poised in the initial 20 minutes as both the teams were trying to break the deadlock. But the match turned in United’s favour as Tottenham’s vulnerability in defense helped our wingers- Luke Shaw and Wan Bissaka to run directly into the opposition box.
Manchester United got the best chance in the 25th minute when Bruno Fernandes provided an inch-perfect cross to Edinson Cavani from the edge of the box. The Uruguayan striker just needed to direct his header towards the corner but he failed and his powerful header went wide of the post.
Tottenham suddenly started looking dangerous and scored a goal from a corner. Son whipped in a great corner and Dier headed it and it went straight to Romero who directed it inside the net. The goal was rightly ruled offside as the defender was just offside. Both the teams got chances but they lacked the end-product.
Manchester United got the best chance in the 39th minute and their superstar was there for the rescue. Shaw makes a great run at the left wing and passed it to Bruno Fernandes just outside the box. The Portuguese magician crossed the ball to Cristiano Ronaldo and the striker did the rest.
He hit a superb volley to beat Hugo Lloris and find the back of the net. Man United was a much-relieved side by half-time and Tottenham didn’t fight back until the half-time whistle.
12 – Cristiano Ronaldo has both scored and assisted a goal for the 12th time in a Premier League match, with three of these occasions coming against Tottenham. Favourite. #TOTMUN pic.twitter.com/KLnxmUXTRE
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 30, 2021
The second half was a dreadful one for Tottenham Hotspur. The fans were restless to see their side respond but they were given false hopes by their home team. They were unable to run past our center-backs and any move that they started was very easily neutralized by our defenders.
Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka expertly moved both up and down the pitch and were very versatile in their positioning. Just after the second-half started, Man United got a chance to score their second after a great finish from Ronaldo again, but the goal was ruled offside.
Manchester United then scored their second goal in the 64th minute of the match through Edinson Cavani. Bruno Fernandes takes the ball from Skipp and passes it to Ronaldo who spotted the run of Edinson Cavani.
The striker managed to stay onside as Dier was slow in retracting back and he ran directly to Hugo Lloris and chipped the ball over the keeper and into the back of the net. The Tottenham fans started showing their frustration by whistling and the stadium was filled with boos just after the second goal was scored.
Tottenham 0-3 Man Utd FT:
xG: 0.88-1.19
Shots: 9-10
Shots on target: 0-4
Big Chances: 2-2
Touches in opp. box: 22-20
Possession: 58%-42%
Pass accuracy: 86%-81% pic.twitter.com/9tONg3PL7b— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) October 30, 2021
Many fans started leaving early and United made matters worse for Tottenham. Marcus Rashford came in and scored through a very good finish after receiving a pass down the middle from Nemanja Matic.
The goal sealed all three points for Manchester United and Solskjaer was a happy man at the final whistle. The match also proves a point that the manager will be in charge of the club for the games against Atalanta and Manchester City.
He might use similar tactics and his players are looking very comfortable with that. Such good results in the upcoming matches will boost United and Solskjaer’s chances of surviving in this difficult schedule.
