Tottenham 2 Man Utd 0
Ange Postecoglou took charge of his first match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as they welcomed Man Utd, who were looking to keep their winning run to the new campaign going.
VAR was the man of the match in their previous outing at Old Trafford as a review of an Andre Onana challenge denied Wolves a stonewall penalty when the keeper wiped out striker Sasa Kalajdzic late on in the game. That and the inability of Gary O’Neil’s side to convert any of their chances resulted in a 1-0 victory for the Red Devils.
United had the first real chance of the game when Rashford took the ball from Antony to dart into the box and get a shot away which was well saved by an outstretched hand of keeper Vicario to keep the scores level.
Fernandes then found Garnacho who cut inside and played the ball back to the Portuguese midfielder as he clipped the ball to the back post with an outlandish rabona to find Rashford unmarked, but he headed over the bar and was relieved to see the linesman’s flag go up in the air for offside.
Credit: @SpursOfficial
Tottenham countered for the first time with real menace as Son ran down the left wing, cutting inside to find Sarr with a pass, who then laid it off to Kulusevski who shot at goal but didn’t really test Andre Onana.
Garnacho was getting some joy coming inside from the left wing and looked to test the Tottenham keeper but his shot deflected off Romero for a corner, although the Man Utd players wanted a penalty. VAR checked it and decided that even though it had hit the defender’s hand, his arms were not in an unnatural position at the time and there was nothing he could do to react quickly enough.
Rashford lost the ball in the Spurs’ box and Maddison ran clear with Spurs eventually working it to Son who slipped a pass into the path of Sarr, the midfielder drawing the first real save from Onana who had to gather it at the second attempt after blocking his shot.
Antony then switched the ball to Garnacho who laid it off to Shaw and the left-back swung in a great ball onto the head of Fernandes who had perfectly timed his run. The United skipper was six yards out in the middle of the goal unmarked but somehow headed the ball high and wide of the target. Maybe he should have tried a rabona.
The influential Son cut in once again from the left flank, looking to shoot, but laid it off to Porro who put his foot through it and saw his effort thunder back off the crossbar. Sarr then looked to cross as United failed to clear their lines, it took a deflection off Shaw, hit the post and came back into play.
Tottenham started the second half well and when Kulusevski got to the byline and looked to cross the ball, it bobbled up off a United player to the back post where Pape Sarr stroked it home to make it 1-0 to the Lilywhites.
Credit: @SpursOfficial
Erik ten Hag’s side almost found an instant reply when Bruno Fernandes found Antony on the edge of the box, he stepped to his left and got a shot away, only to see his effort hit the post and come back out. That was the third time the woodwork had been struck at that end of the pitch.
Tottenham felt that they had a good shout for a penalty themselves when Martinez upended Romero but VAR checked it and decided that it was not to be, although we would have probably seen that one given last season. You know how it is, the rules of football set in stone for 160 years, then the FA decide to change them every season to making it more interesting.
Fernandes had the chance to put a good delivery into the box from a free-kick, finding the head of Casemiro but the Brazilian’s effort was tipped over the bar acrobatically by Vicario. The Man Utd midfielder was as dominant as ever in the air, really testing the Spurs’ keeper.
While the visitors were desperately looking to find an equaliser, Tottenham came forward and two substitutes combined when Perisic threaded the ball into the box to Ben Davies who seemingly guided the ball into the bottom corner to make it 2-0. The replay showed that he had barely connected with it however and his effort was going wide until Lisandro Martinez swung a wild kick at it and sliced it into his own goal.
Postecoglou’s half-time team talk had done the trick as his side looked a completely different team in the second half and fully deserved their win. It was some homecoming for the new manager who left the home fans thinking……..Harry who?
Did you enjoy this article? Please share to your social media. With one click you can help spread the word and make Solid at the Back the one-stop shop for all Premier League fans.