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Manchester United returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a comfortable 3-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford condemned Spurs to their fifth league defeat of the season.
The hosts struggled throughout the game, failing to register a single shot on target. Tottenham looked unorganised, and lacked purpose going forward, with Son Hueng-Min doing most of their heavy lifting in the final third.
Ronaldo opened the scoring in spectacular fashion, converting a close-range volley in the 39th minute. But the game had seen a few chances up to that point. Spurs saw a goal ruled out by VAR in the 28th minute before Hugo Loris made a great save off Fred's long-range effort.
Manchester United thought they opened the scoring in the second half when Ronaldo beat Hugo Lloris to Scott McTominay's pas. But he was denied by the assistant referee's offside flag, a decision that was upheld by VAR.
United soon bagged their second goal of the night following a swift counter-attack. Ronaldo spotted Cavani's run, and delivered a perfectly-weighted pass for the Uruguayan striker, who made no mistake in beating Lloris.
Two second-half substitutes, Nemanja Matic and Marcus Rashford combined for the third of the night to seal the game. Rashford scored a typical goal after making a great run, beating the keeper with a right-footed finish.
On that note, here's a look at the five talking points from the game:
#5 Changed formation helps improve Manchester United's efficiency
Sometimes little tweaks end up making a huge difference for the team. A small tweak in the formation worked well for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team on the night. He switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation against Spurs. That allowed United mobility down the flanks and also three solid centre-halves ahead of David de Gea.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw were pushed up the flanks, Fred and McTominay won their tackles, which helped Bruno Fernandes dictate the play and create a few chances for United.
Many teams across Europe prefer a three-at-the-back system nowadays. So Solskjaer might wish to stick with this one for a while.
#4 Tottenham Hotspur fans let their frustration known
Tottenham were toothless against Manchester United, and it was just another disappointing display in a series of poor performances by them in recent weeks. While it was Solskjaer whose job was on the line,needing a win here, Nuno Espirito Santo faced some backlash from his fans on the night.
The home fans were noisy throughout the game, but became especially vocal when Nuno took off Lucas Moura and brought in Steven Bergwijn. The fans chanted: 'You don't know what you're doing'.
Though the decision to substitute Moura might not have been a wrong one, fans aren't happy with how things are going at Spurs at the moment.
#3 Manchester United keep their first clean sheet since August
Manchester United had a great all-round performance against Spurs. They scored three goals while also managing to keep the Tottenham attackers at bay. In fact, they did not concede a single shot on target all night.
United had let in five goals at Old Trafford against Liverpool last week, and questions were asked about their defence. On Saturday, with a three-man defence led by Raphael Varane, coupled with Tottenham's poor finishing meant United didn't concede any.
It was the first clean sheet in the Premier League since August, and their win was their first in five games.
#2 Tottenham wasted possession, and players appeared clueless about their roles on the pitch
Though it may not be clear from the scoreline, Tottenham Hotspur had most of the possession on the night. The hosts could've been more effective with the ball, but the biggest problem with their game on Saturday was their lack of a clear game plan.
Spurs were able to win back possession, but had no idea what to do next. Harry Kane was almost an anonymous figure throughout the game as his teammates were unable to find him with a good pass.
Son was visibly frustrated with his teammate,s as he was very active in the final third. He was the first to chase down any loose balls.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo returns to goalscoring ways against his favourite opponents
Cristiano Ronaldo had a great game, getting back on the scoresheet with a wonderful volley. In the second half, he picked up his first Premier League assist since joining the club.
He has scored more goals against Spurs than any other English opponents, with his tally after this game now standing at 12. The Portuguese star looked to be in good touch, and was fired up after United suffered a 5-0 home loss against Liverpool last week.
Manchester United will hope that Ronaldo keeps up this form, as they have a couple of tricky fixtures ahead of them. That includes a fierce derby game against Manchester City next Saturday.
