Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 Manchester United: Hits and flops as Red Devils make a timely return to winning ways
Manchester United halted a run of poor results in the Premier League with a crucial 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford got on the scoresheet as the Red Devils secured three important points.
Classy strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford give @ManUtd a welcome away win
#TOTMUN https://t.co/iK7pwk7fPV
After a cagey start to the game in which neither side looked particularly threatening, Manchester United finally took the lead in the 39th minute. Ronaldo’s perfectly-executed volley earned the Red Devils a hard-fought lead going into the half-time interval.
The second half went much the same way, with Manchester United’s clinical finishing proving to be the difference between the two sides. After Cavani extended United’s lead in the 64th minute, substitute Rashford sealed the win in the 86th.
With three points, Manchester United jumped up to fifth in the table, with Spurs further down in eighth place.
On that note, here are five hits and flops from the game.
#1 Hit: Cristiano Ronaldo
Being paired up alongside Edinson Cavani seemed to breathe new life into Ronaldo, who seemed full of running in the game. He was rewarded for his improved work rate as he opened the scoring with a spectacular volley before setting Cavani up for the second.
At 36 years and 267 days, @Cristiano Ronaldo is the oldest player to both score and assist a goal in a #PL match since Didier Drogba (December 2014)
The Chelsea forward was also 36y 267d and also achieved the feat against Spurs
#TOTMUN https://t.co/t96FHArLqf
United’s experienced front two gave the Spurs defense a lot of trouble with their intelligent movement, drawing defenders this way and that. Ronaldo seemed to hark back to his old Manchester United days at times as he occasionally popped up on the wing.
As such, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might well persist with playing two up top to continue getting the best out of Ronaldo this season.
#2 Flop: Harry Kane
Spurs’ star striker continues to struggle in front of goal in the league this season, drawing yet another blank. In fact, Spurs were unable to muster even a single shot on target in the entire game.
9 - Spurs (9) have scored their fewest number of goals after 10 Premier League games since 2013-14 (also 9). Having failed to have a single shot during the second half against West Ham last week, Tottenham didn't manage a single shot on target this evening. Ghosted.
Despite regularly dropping deep to get on the ball, Kane had the fewest touches (33) of any outfield player to play 90 minutes. Furthermore, when Spurs did create attacking moves, Kane was often too far back to make anything of them. As such, getting a regular supply to Kane high up the pitch needs to be high on the Spurs agenda moving forward.