3 Reasons why Manchester United won against Tottenham Hotspur

Manchester United recorded a gritty 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening to go level on points with Arsenal. The win keeps Manchester United in the hunt for a top-four finish in the Premier League this season.

United created chances early in the game and were threatening on the counter. The pace of Lingard, Martial, and Rashford troubled Spurs defense throughout the game. After threatening on the counter for the majority of the first half, United eventually broke the deadlock in the 44th minute when Pogba capitalized on a poor pass by Trippier to send Rashford clear.

The English forward kept his cool and ensured that United led at half time against a team they haven’t enjoyed facing recently. After the break, the home side tried everything in their power to get on level terms but Manchester United and David De Gea stood strong to hand Solskjaer his 6th consecutive victory as Manchester United manager.

Here is a look at the three reasons why Manchester United won against Tottenham Hotspur.

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#3 Manchester United clinical in front of goal

Rashford seized on an opening to punish Spurs

The Red Devils arrived at Wembley having scored 14 goals in their previous four league outings and on Sunday evening and they displayed exactly why they’ve been a free-scoring in recent weeks.

Manchester United always looked a menace on the break and mercilessly exploited the space Trippier and Davies left behind. All of these aspects combined perfectly in the 44th minute as Pogba latched onto a spare ball in midfield to set Rashford away. The Englishman adhered to his recent upturn in fortunes and clinically slotted the ball past Lloris to put the Red Devils ahead.

On a day when Spurs struggled to unlock the Manchester United defence, the Red Devils came up with the goods when it mattered most. Courtesy of their fifth consecutive league victory, they can now realistically harbor hopes of a top-four finish.

#2 Spurs fail to make the most of their openings

Kane & Co. were wasteful in front of goal

Before the weekend, Spurs found themselves six points off the perch of the table. Hence, the game against United represented a ‘make or break’ situation, with a failure to win potentially curtailing their hopes of a title.

Yet, they simply couldn’t find the key to the United lock and now face the unenviable task of making up nine points on Liverpool over 16 games. At Wembley, Spurs weren’t guilty of being lackadaisical or failing to conjure opportunities. Rather, they just didn’t have the rub of the green when it came to making the net bulge.

On several occasions, they went through on goal only to fluff their lines. Though they encountered a brick wall in De Gea, the home side surely could have made at least one of those chances count.

#1 David De Gea

De Gea heroically stood between Tottenham and victory

The Red Devils were under the cosh in the second half with Spurs applying relentless pressure. Yet, they came through unscathed, courtesy of David De Gea. Over the course of the game, David De Gea has made 11 saves and got in the way of everything the home side threw at him.

He started the second half by denying Kane and later came up trumps with Alli. However, the save he pulled off at his near post from an Alderweireld flick was arguably his best. For large parts of the second period, the United boat was rocking but the Spaniard stood firm.

Throughout the 2018-19 season, David De Gea’s place among the higher echelons of the goalkeeping pyramid has been questioned. Yet, on Sunday, he delivered a performance to silence all those doubters and remind the world that he definitely deserves to be at the top.