Second-half blitz helps Manchester United overpower Tottenham

The comebacks kings have done it again. United have made it a habit of kicking into gear after conceding the opening goal and once again, the Red Devils managed to turn the game around at the London Stadium to pick up their 28th point from losing positions this season. Second-half goals from Fred, Edinson Cavani and Mason Greenwood were enough to help Manchester United seal the win against Tottenham Hotspur and their former manager, Jose Mourinho.

In the first 35 minutes, neither side were able to create anything meaningful and it felt like a game that was waiting to happen. Eventually, the match kicked into life just before half-time after Paul Pogba slotted Edinson Cavani in on goal who finished past Hugo Lloris only for the goal to be denied for a foul in the build-up. VAR adjudicated that Scott McTominay had swung a flailing arm in Son Heung Min’s face in a deliberate manner and the goal was disallowed. To make matters worse, the Korean then opened the scoring for Spurs at the other end just moments later after some nice link-up play between Lucas Moura and Harry Kane.

The second half, however, was a different story. Spurs were immediately put on the back foot by Manchester United who levelled things up through Fred before taking the lead through a wonderful Edinson Cavani header. Mason Greenwood put the gloss on the performance with a fantastic low drive in the dying embers of the game to seal all 3 points for Manchester United and more or less secure Champions League football for next season. The pleasing thing about this United victory is that the goals didn’t come from Manchester United’s usual counter-attacking football. Instead, Solskjaer’s side were able to break through Tottenham’s low block through intricate build-up play and clinical finishing from their forwards.

This victory puts the Red Devils only 11 points away from league leaders Manchester City with a game in hand. While it is almost certain that City will win the title despite losing to Leeds at the weekend, Manchester United have firmly secured 2nd place in the league with this win and are in for an incredibly exciting end to the season with the possibility of winning the Europa League. For Tottenham and Jose on the other hand, this defeat leaves them reeling at 7th place in the league with their top-four dreams fading further after each passing week.