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Manchester United beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 at Old Trafford on Saturday in the Premier League, courtesy of a hat-trick from a vintage Cristiano Ronaldo.
Tottenham have had a weird run of late and it continued against Manchester United. Conte's wen came into the match on the back of three wins and two losses, with the results alternating after every match.
Having beaten Everton 5-0 in their last match, Spurs continued their flickering run by losing 3-2 to United. The Red Devils took home all three points and have temporarily regained their fourth spot in the table.
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Cristiano Ronaldo missed United's last match against City due to a reported injury and the player was also believed to have left for Portugal on the day of the derby. With rumors around his form and future circling, CR7 delivered in the way he knows best - with mouth-watering goals at Old Trafford.
He opened the scoring on the night with a long-distance screamer. The 37-year-old took a couple of touches to set himself up for the long-ranger and beat Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris on the far post.
Ronaldo's second came from his ability to arrive in the box at the right time. He was at the end of a deliciously whipped low-drive from Jadon Sancho to restore lead for Spurs after Harry Kane's penalty had made it 1-1.
Maguire's own goal made the score 2-2 but Ronaldo had the final say on the night. He jumped best from a corner in the 81st minute to thump in a header and make the score 3-2. Spurs had run out of ideas to make a third comeback on the same night, leaving United as the victors.
Fans witnessed a Cristiano Ronaldo classic but Antonio Conte was not very pleased with Manchester United's overall performance as he went on to say:
"Without Cristiano Ronaldo for Manchester United it would have been difficult not just to win but also to draw the game."
The Italian is not wrong. But this is who Ronaldo is and this is the reason why United signed a 37-year-old on such astronomical wages. Ronaldo is a machine who can win games and he did so last night.
On that note, let's take a look at the five talking points from the fixture between the two heavyweights in the Premier League.
#5 Ralf Ragnick's tactical nous comes to fore
While Cristiano Ronaldo stole the entirety of the limelight at Old Trafford, it is to be noted that Ralf Ragnick made some important tweaks to his system. The German hasn't had the best start to his tenure at Man United, but this win would be a crucial morale booster for him and his men.
While Spurs were not significantly outperformed by the home side, Ralf Ragnick and his team did just enough to make sure Tottenham didn't enjoy the space behind Man United's defense.
Conte's teams, over the years, are good at counter-attacking. Rangnick went against his philosophy of dominating the ball as he understood the weaknesses in his opposition's game.
Despite having attempted 10 shots, Spurs failed to test De Gea properly.
Manchester United's double pivot along with Paul Pogba held off Spurs' midfield, as the visitors struggled to find regular space in the opposition half.
The home side sat deep during for the transitions, essentially taking away Spurs' ability to counter quickly.
#4 Lack of versatility from Tottenham
Antonio Conte's men have won just three games in their last eight league matches. Tottenham, despite having plenty of quality players, lack the cutting edge and versatility to win games against different kinds of opposition.
Their last three league wins came against first placed Manchester City, 16th placed Leeds United & 17th placed Everton. One thing common in those teams is that they play a very high line and Spurs beat them because they could launch counter-attacks.
On the other hand, they have enjoyed the more possession in games they have lost.
Despite having such creative players in Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min, Dejan Kulusevski, etc, the Lilywhites cannot break down teams who sit deep. This is a huge worry for Conte as they play West Ham United, Newcastle United, Brighton and Hove Albion in their upcoming games. None of these teams are likely to leave a lot of space behind their defence.
#3 Manchester United were far from world class, but they did enough to secure the win
While fans argue that Manchester United didn't really cause any serious problems for Spurs as a team, they did enough to take home the three points. The visitors defended as a team, attacked in numbers and made sure they didn't leave spaces in midfield.
Harry Kane and Heung-min Son were nullified leaving Spurs looking blunt in the final third.
#2 Tottenham's defence held accountable by Jadon Sancho; plethora of problems for Antonio Conte
After a rather slow start to his Man United career, the 21-year-old has picked up pace in some fashion. Jadon Sancho is seemingly Ragnick's favorite player in this Man United team, as the Englishman is flexible in his attacking instincts and can drift anywhere across the pitch to impact the game. The youngster has vision, a lovely first touch and the positional awareness to play as a winger for Ragnick's side.
While Matt Doherty's attacking prowess troubled United once in a while, he was often caught out of position defensively by Sancho. Cristian Romero is not as good as Spurs fans expected him to be, while Eric Dier and Ben Davies continue to prove that they are mid-table quality at best.
Daniel Levy needs to help Conte revamp their whole defense and give him the tools to improve this team. The current squad, despite having talented players up front and in midfield, are often let down by the defense. Scoring two goals in an away game against a big six side should be enough to win you at least a point in most cases.
#1 A Cristiano Ronaldo masterclass
Hattricks in clutch games are a regular occurence for Cristiano Ronaldo. We've seen the 37-year-old bagging goals for fun at Real Madrid, and although it hasn't been the same at United this time, it is never over until it's over for Ronaldo.
Antonio Conte takes huge pride in keeping clean sheets and this was definitely a blow to his aspirations for the season. To concede three goals against an out-of-form United and lose the game in such fashion is far from acceptable. But that is the price teams play of facing a motivated CR7.
