EPL Week 5: Ten-Man United Defeat Tottenham 3-1
September 13th 2009 06:37
Tottenham fans were brought down to a Earth on Saturday as a ten-man Manchester United overcame an early deficit to win the game 3-1 and thus cool down the red hot Spurs.
The game wasn't a minute old when Jermaine Defoe took advantage of a poor clearance by Nemanja Vidic to crucify Ben Foster with a perfectly executed bicycle kick. Although the goal momentarily rattled the defending champions, they moved past it and put themselves to work, blasting Tottenham with wave after wave of attacking power. After two missed opportunities (Scholes and Fletcher) in the first five minutes, it was clear that United would do everything to get the equalizer. Their task was made difficult by Sir Alex's decision to field a defensive-minded team (compared to United's usual standard line-up) with neither Nani nor Valencia getting the nod to start. The manager's decision to go
with his hardened veterans (Giggs and Scholes) instead proved to be the right one as Ryan Giggs put both teams level in the 24th minute with an excellent free-kick.
Once they got the equalizer, the Red Devils slowed down the pace of the game to take complete control of the first half. By the half-hour mark, they had three more opportunities to score but Berbatov was stopped in all three attempts. It was Anderson who put the visitors in front with a powerful strike from the edge of the box in the 40th minute. Ignored by Sir Alex since the beginning of the season, Anderson only wanted a chance to play to show his worth. He didn't waste the opportunity against Tottenham, scoring his first goal of the season which is also his first competitive goal in the United shirt.
After his team's stupendous start to the game, Harry Redknapp could only shake his head in amazement at the break. His team led 1-0 after one minute of play and were down 2-1 at the end of the first half with no concrete chance to score after Defoe's goal. His solution was to start Jenas in the second half to give an offensive spark to the Spurs.
The move almost paid off. Ten minutes after kickoff, Jenas' powerful strike required an acrobatic save by Foster to keep the visitors in the lead. The Spurs saw the door further open itself when Paul Scholes was given his second yellow card in the 58th minute, reducing Manchester United to ten men. I was wondering when good ol' Scholesy would get his first red card of the season given his inability to make a proper tackle despite all these years in the league. It's a good thing it happened when United was in the lead and not losing the game. Down a man, United played even better defensively with the entrance of Carrick to fill the hole in midfield while Rooney drifted to the wing while also playing as the lone striker. The last thirty minutes of the game showed how the Red Devils can be solid defensively when they put their mind to it. With Evra blocking his way for most of the first half, Lennon made his way to the left wing for the second half but that move only took him out of the game as he is less effective on that wing. Fletcher's tireless work on the right side of the field also contributed to Tottenham's downfall as Crouch and Defoe found themselves tightly marked inside the box with no cross coming their way. When the ball did reach Crouch – who seemed to be the Spurs' preferred target – the big man was almost always offside or neutralized by O'Shea and Ferdinand.
Further upfield, Giggs was the anchor holding the visitors midfield. While Carrick and Fletcher did their best to regain possession, Giggs was the one who controlled United's direction with efficient passing and several runs to attract defenders when he didn't have the ball. Throughout all those thirty minutes, you would have never thought that Manchester United were numerically inferior. Evra was attacking like a full-fledged winger while Fletcher was stopping everything coming down the right flank and Rooney was all over Tottenham's backline, trying to find the perfect moment to break off.
The English striker finally put the nail in Tottenham's coffin with a superb goal in the 77th minute, turning defender Alan Hutton inside out before slipping the ball in between Cudicini's legs. At 3-1, the Spurs had no chance of coming back and Nani's entrance at the 80th minute forced them to be less reckless in their attacks since a failed offensive rush could easily turn into a fast counter for United and with Nani's pace, the score easily could turn to 4-1. So they played it safe and gave the defending champions the three points. Next week, the Spurs will face an undefeated Chelsea while United will face their city rivals in the Manchester City. Two important games for all teams involved. Should be fun.
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Manchester United line-up: Ben Foster; John O'Shea, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes, Anderson (Nani, 80th), Ryan Giggs; Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov (Michael Carrick, 61st).
The game wasn't a minute old when Jermaine Defoe took advantage of a poor clearance by Nemanja Vidic to crucify Ben Foster with a perfectly executed bicycle kick. Although the goal momentarily rattled the defending champions, they moved past it and put themselves to work, blasting Tottenham with wave after wave of attacking power. After two missed opportunities (Scholes and Fletcher) in the first five minutes, it was clear that United would do everything to get the equalizer. Their task was made difficult by Sir Alex's decision to field a defensive-minded team (compared to United's usual standard line-up) with neither Nani nor Valencia getting the nod to start. The manager's decision to go
with his hardened veterans (Giggs and Scholes) instead proved to be the right one as Ryan Giggs put both teams level in the 24th minute with an excellent free-kick.
Once they got the equalizer, the Red Devils slowed down the pace of the game to take complete control of the first half. By the half-hour mark, they had three more opportunities to score but Berbatov was stopped in all three attempts. It was Anderson who put the visitors in front with a powerful strike from the edge of the box in the 40th minute. Ignored by Sir Alex since the beginning of the season, Anderson only wanted a chance to play to show his worth. He didn't waste the opportunity against Tottenham, scoring his first goal of the season which is also his first competitive goal in the United shirt.
After his team's stupendous start to the game, Harry Redknapp could only shake his head in amazement at the break. His team led 1-0 after one minute of play and were down 2-1 at the end of the first half with no concrete chance to score after Defoe's goal. His solution was to start Jenas in the second half to give an offensive spark to the Spurs.
The move almost paid off. Ten minutes after kickoff, Jenas' powerful strike required an acrobatic save by Foster to keep the visitors in the lead. The Spurs saw the door further open itself when Paul Scholes was given his second yellow card in the 58th minute, reducing Manchester United to ten men. I was wondering when good ol' Scholesy would get his first red card of the season given his inability to make a proper tackle despite all these years in the league. It's a good thing it happened when United was in the lead and not losing the game. Down a man, United played even better defensively with the entrance of Carrick to fill the hole in midfield while Rooney drifted to the wing while also playing as the lone striker. The last thirty minutes of the game showed how the Red Devils can be solid defensively when they put their mind to it. With Evra blocking his way for most of the first half, Lennon made his way to the left wing for the second half but that move only took him out of the game as he is less effective on that wing. Fletcher's tireless work on the right side of the field also contributed to Tottenham's downfall as Crouch and Defoe found themselves tightly marked inside the box with no cross coming their way. When the ball did reach Crouch – who seemed to be the Spurs' preferred target – the big man was almost always offside or neutralized by O'Shea and Ferdinand.
Further upfield, Giggs was the anchor holding the visitors midfield. While Carrick and Fletcher did their best to regain possession, Giggs was the one who controlled United's direction with efficient passing and several runs to attract defenders when he didn't have the ball. Throughout all those thirty minutes, you would have never thought that Manchester United were numerically inferior. Evra was attacking like a full-fledged winger while Fletcher was stopping everything coming down the right flank and Rooney was all over Tottenham's backline, trying to find the perfect moment to break off.
The English striker finally put the nail in Tottenham's coffin with a superb goal in the 77th minute, turning defender Alan Hutton inside out before slipping the ball in between Cudicini's legs. At 3-1, the Spurs had no chance of coming back and Nani's entrance at the 80th minute forced them to be less reckless in their attacks since a failed offensive rush could easily turn into a fast counter for United and with Nani's pace, the score easily could turn to 4-1. So they played it safe and gave the defending champions the three points. Next week, the Spurs will face an undefeated Chelsea while United will face their city rivals in the Manchester City. Two important games for all teams involved. Should be fun.
Watch More Football Videos at MySoccerPlace.net
Manchester United line-up: Ben Foster; John O'Shea, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes, Anderson (Nani, 80th), Ryan Giggs; Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov (Michael Carrick, 61st).
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