After Sunday’s victory over Tottenham at White Hart Lane in London, Manchester United continue their Premier League title push under great pressure.
The victory put the defending champion’s two points behind leader Manchester City and 11 points ahead of third-place Tottenham.
The Hotspurs were down several players due to injury, but they knew that with or without those keys players such as Scott Parker, Rafael van der Vaart, and Gareth Bale it would still be a difficult task to beat second-place Manchester United.
The game started as a toss-up. Both teams took turns having possession of the ball. United did not seem to be playing at their full potential. The first half seemed to be a scoreless one until Ashley Young set up a header ball from the left for Wayne Rooney at the 45th minute of play. Rooney got away from Tottenham defender Kyle Walker and scored a header from six yards off. As the first half ended the United stole the lead.
Spurs kick off the second half. Spurs had truly been dominating the game after the beginning toss-up.
At the 60th minute of play, Ashley Young scored with a scissor-volleyed ball into the far corner of the goal. Nani had crossed the ball across the face of the goal. A mere nine minutes later, Young doubled his tally with a gloriously curved ball into the far top corner.
After the third goal, Hotspur began to slow down their possession. United was able to play the ball on their behalf. Throughout the whole game, Hotspur seemed to put up a great fight. Although they were down 3-0, they continued to play the game with elegance as though the game was not against them. In the 87th minute of play, Hotspur scored a consolation goal. Giggs gave a poor pass which allowed Defoe to take the ball and run within 25 yards of goal.
The result when the game ended was a 3-1 in favor of United. They did not play their best game and Spurs actually outplayed them. Spurs had 18 shots while United only mustered six. They played a well-defended game but Ashley Young was too hot to handle and sealed Tottenham’s fate with his match-winning performance.
United Manager Alex Ferguson had several remarks about the game: he stated, "It's an entirely unbelievable result… I would say that's our hardest away game of the season. ... And, in fairness, the first half we were never at the races. Maybe we got our tactics wrong."
With such a win under their belts, United will look to overcome league leaders Manchester City and reclaim the EPL Title.
Written by: Cristina Loza
Edited by: Matthew Sinacore
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