Fred and Bruno Fernandes scored in the second half as Manchester United defeated Tottenham 2-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday. The victory, which moves the Red Devils to within one point of the top four, was undoubtedly the greatest of Erik ten Hag’s brief tenure as manager.
On a discouraging night for Spurs’ hopes of contending for their first league title since 1961, only Hugo Lloris’ heroics in goal kept the score low.
With just one loss in 10 games, Antonio Conte’s team achieved the best Premier League start for Tottenham ever.
Despite the successful outcomes, the Italian’s cautious tactics have prompted questions, and Conte was ultimately made to pay on a night when United performed well.
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Ten Hag had lamented his team’s lack of a killer instinct after only scoring once in the prior week’s home games against Omonia Nicosia and Newcastle.
United had 19 efforts on goal in the opening 45 minutes without scoring, and it appeared as though they would again fail to convert their excellent approach play with Cristiano Ronaldo sitting on the bench.
As the Brazilian’s shot brushed against the outside of the post, Antony came inches from scoring his fourth goal in five Premier League appearances.
Then, in the span of a few minutes, Lloris made three outstanding saves to block low shots from Marcus Rashford, Fernandes, and Luke Shaw.
Only two minutes had passed into the second session when Fred finally beat Lloris with a deflected shot from the edge of the area.
Even falling behind failed to elicit a response from Conte’s team; a win would have brought Spurs to within one point of leaders Arsenal.
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The superb United center-back duo of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane held Harry Kane and Son Heung-min in check.
Martinez managed to get just enough of a touch to deflect the England captain’s attempt wide, even when it was Kane’s best chance to score.
Fernandes hadn’t scored for his club since August, but he retained his composure to clinch Tottenham’s fate 21 minutes from time with a tidy finish into the far corner.
The Portuguese made an even more impressive finish by rolling into an open net after rounding Lloris, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
Another great Lloris save, this time low to his left, prevented Rashford from scoring the goal that his performance merited.
A night filled with triumphs for the hosts was only somewhat marred by the image of Ronaldo stumbling down the tunnel before the game was completed because Ten Hag refused to use him as a substitute.
