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Tottenham Hotspur Match Reports
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester Utd.: Spurs snap one goal losing streak with their third win over United
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Tottenham Hotspur have two previous wins over United this season — once at Old Trafford and once in the League Cup. This match today at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was tighter than either of the previous two ties, but it was another Spurs win. James Maddison scored in the 13th minute and held on for a 1-0 win over United, a win that propelled them up to 12th in the table.
Remember that injury crisis? Well a lot changed with just a week of rest. Spurs welcomed back five players to the matchday squad and two in the starting lineup, with Guglielmo Vicario donning the gloves in goal for the first time since November, and James Maddison returning to the midfield. Meanwhile, Destiny Udogie, Brennan Johnson and even (gasp) Wilson Odobert started the match on the bench, giving Ange Postecoglou with some real options in reserve for the first time in what feels like months. Lucas Bergvall also started in place of Yves Bissouma, while Ben Davies slotted into the back line beside Kevin Danso, giving Archie Gray a much needed rest.
Here are my match notes.
Match Notes
You mean when Tottenham have a few key players back from injury and a real bench then can bring on in reserve then they play better? Remarkable!
Remember what it feels like to play well and win deservedly? Yeah, it’s been a while, but Spurs did and also did.
In Spurs’ last match I thought Mathys Tel looked a little off kilter playing on the wing. Today, Ange started him centrally with Son left and he looked a lot more comfortable. Made some nice runs into space (most of which were not found) and had a couple of good shots. Seemed to have the yips in the second half but I liked what I saw.
Boy it’s nice to see Googly Elmo back between the sticks. Two early stops and an overall solid performance. As much as we bigged up Kinsky early, I think Vicario is still our clear No. 1 keeper.
Djed Spence had a MONSTER game, keeping Mazraoui in check and also gliding into space behind United’s lines. Just a really, really good match. He might be our best fullback, full stop.
That Spurs goal was just a nicely worked offensive set. A good cross to the back post by Porro, a blocked shot by Son, a Bergvall follow-up that forced a save, and a well-timed run to the back post for Maddison to tuck the ball home. Spurs looked like an actual team! It was neat!
The difference between the two teams’ midfields was striking today. Putting a (good) Rodrigo Bentancur and a mobile Lucas Bergvall against the shambling corpse of Casemiro was always likely to favor the Swede, but Bergvall and Bentancur together just passed and moved straight through the center of the pitch. I’ve bagged on Bentancur quite a bit for a few weeks now but gotta say he played well today.
Kevin Danso has some wheels. I was surprised at his speed, particularly against Zirkzee. It makes me feel better about Tottenham’s needs in the summer, regardless of what happens with Cuti Romero.
Spurs played well but United had their moments. There were extended stretches in both halves where their situational press gave Spurs some trouble, and United were able to hang onto possession and give Tottenham things to think about. It made the second half a lot nervier than you would’ve thought at halftime.
The substitution of Sarr for Maddison and Johnson for Bergvall was probably about both managing minutes of the starters and also getting BJ some time on the pitch. I worried about Spurs’ midfield passing, but shifting Deki back central helped.
Need to give some credit to Spurs’ subs — Sarr really opened things up with his running, and Odobert had some really nice moves in a limited cameo appearance. Johnson had a couple of nice runs and Bissouma filled in capably for an exhausted Bentancur.
This win was Tottenham’s first win in a match decided by one goal this season, snapping an 0-12 streak. Yes, we’d like it to have been more comfortable, but it’s nice to have THAT monkey off our backs.
The win puts Tottenham up to 12th, level on points with Crystal Palace and Everton. That feels better than 15th, doesn’t it?