Premier League 2019-20, Manchester United 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur: 5 Men who were brilliant for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
When Manchester United welcomed Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford on Wednesday, the Red Devils were sliding dangerously away from the top 4. United spurned a glorious chance to make it to the fifth position over the weekend, stuttering to a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa. However, the biggest concern was the team’s failure to put in a praiseworthy performance in the last couple of weeks. Their form in the Premier League had been extremely poor; the Red Devils had won just four of their 14 games before Wednesday, enduring their worst start in the league for over three decades.
Their opponents did have problems of their own for the majority of this season, but since former United manager Jose Mourinho’s arrival, Spurs had managed a 100% record, winning all of their three games under the Portuguese tactician. The two sides were separated by just two points ahead of the game, which made the midweek clash vital for both of them. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was aware that only a win could improve the mood around Old Trafford, but an injury to Anthony Martial jeopardized his plans ahead of the game. With Paul Pogba not back from injury yet, the Norwegian made four changes to the team from the weekend’s draw against Villa.
Manchester United Starting XI: David De Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Ashley Young; Fred, Scott McTominay, Jesse Lingard; Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, Daniel James.
Manchester United were very quick off the blocks and took the lead through Rashford in the 6th minute. However, Dele Alli scored the equalizer in the 39th minute and the first half ended with the score 1-1. After the break, Marcus Rashford won a penalty when he was brought down in the box by Moussa Sissoko. The Englishman stepped up and converted the spot-kick, giving United the lead once more. The home side were rarely troubled for the rest of the game, holding on to win all three points. Here are the five men who were brilliant for Solskjaer and won United the game.
#5 Aaron Wan-Bissaka
The focus has been on the Manchester United defence for the last few games and rightly so. United had let in five goals in the last two Premier League games and the defence had looked shaky on both occasions. However, one player who continued to be good was Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Against Tottenham too, the Englishman put in a stellar shift.
Wan-Bissaka ensured that Son Heung-min had a quiet night and the Englishman also worked in tandem with Daniel James on the right. His attacking play was also an improvement and Wan-Bissaka made good use of the space available on the right to peg Tottenham back for most of the game. He had 73 touches on the ball, completed both of his attempted dribbles and also had a 100% record with his tackles.
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