'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Manchester United were able to beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in a crucial Premier League match at the Wembley yesterday. Marcus Rashford scored the only goal of the match in the 45th minute of the match. It was United’s 6th straight win since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken charge of the team.
United have now won their last 5 matches in the Premier League and have 41 points from 22 matches. Tottenham meanwhile, stayed on 48 points from 22 matches and now trail league leaders Liverpool by 9 points.
United were marginally the better team in the first half, whereas Tottenham dominated the proceedings in the second. Tottenham had 61% ball possession in the match and had 11 shots on target against United’s 8.
It was a very hard-earned victory for United and also their first against a top team this season. We would now take a look at the 3 tactical factors which were important in United’s win.
#1 United defended deep and kept Tottenham’s forwards at bay
United knew before the match that Tottenham would come hard at them and devised their strategy accordingly. Their defenders defended very deep and defensive midfielders almost always stayed close to the back four. Nemanja Matic especially was superb and blocked quite a few shots inside the penalty box, including two from Harry Kane.
Ander Herrera too, curbed his attacking instincts somewhat and stayed in his own half as much as possible. United’s right-back Ashley Young went into overlaps on quite a few occasions in the first 30 minutes or so, but mostly stayed in his own half thereafter to deal with the attacking threat of Son-Heung-Min.
Luke Shaw was also very good and won some battles in the air with the Tottenham forwards. United’s center-backs were also quite good and delivered a dour and gutsy performance. But special praise has to be reserved for United’s goalie David De Gea, who was simply phenomenal yesterday.
He made two great saves of Dele Alli from close range and parried away a flick from Toby Alderweireld. It was Da Gea’s 4th clean sheet in the league this season and definitely one of his better performances for United till date.
#2 United forwards made good use of the space left behind by Tottenham’s fullbacks
Tottenham played Son as a left winger and he mostly stayed up front. Therefore, Tottenham’s left-back Ben Davies had to repeatedly go up to fill in the gap created in the left midfield. On the other hand, Tottenham’s right-back Kieran Trippier has natural attacking instincts and likes to go into overlaps frequently.
United’s management knew this and therefore, their forwards were instructed to exploit the space left behind by the Tottenham full-backs. Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial made repeated forays through the right and left flanks for United, respectively.
Martial penetrated into the penalty box through the left flank and took a shot at goal, which was saved by Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. On another occasion, Martial played a pass to Paul Pogba from the flank, but Pogba’s shot was again saved by Lloris.
United’s goal also came through such an attack. Pogba received the ball in his own half and played a long ball to Rashford on the right flank. Rashford ran past a Tottenham defender to get to the ball and shot it past Lloris to the right corner of the net. It was Rashford’s 8th goal of the season and he is growing in stature with every match.
#3 United’s attacking players contributed a lot defensively after the goal
Tottenham threw everything at the United defense in the second half, but the latter held firm. Moreover, United’s forwards also dropped down to the middle third frequently to thwart the Tottenham attacks. Rashford fell back repeatedly to his own half to counter Trippier’s overlaps. Martial looked a bit jaded in the second half and was replaced by Romelu Lukaku.
Both Lukaku and Jesse Lingard continued to contribute defensively by falling back and marking the Tottenham players. Pogba also spent the majority of the last 30 minutes inside his own half. Instead of playing box-to-box, he kept playing from his own box to the half line in the second half and stopped quite a few moves by Tottenham.
He was replaced by McTominay in the injury time, but his contribution to United’s win was immense. Overall, it was a dogged defensive performance the whole United team should be proud of.
