Tottenham cut it fine but hold on for rare double - and a third win - over Man United
Tottenham (1) 1 Maddison 13
Man United (0) 0
A first double over United since the 1989-90 season and three wins against them in all competitions.
But hey, lads, it's (only) United.
A contest between 14th and 15th placed sides is not what we'd expect from a Spurs v United contest but that was the reality for these two ailing sides who have fallen on hard times.
Boy did Spurs need this one after the deflating double cup disappointments of last week and they just about squeaked home, thanks to a solitary James Maddison goal and a crucial set of saves from a returning Guglielmo Vicario.
The Italian stopper is one of the many players Spurs have been deprived of for way too much of the season and he offered a reminder of just how damaging these absences have been.
Vicario was soon showing what Spurs had been missing - parrying away efforts from Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho in quick succession. Diogo Dalot followed up the second of those those efforts with a shot that was cleared off the line by Ben Davies.
The reprieve gladly accepted, Spurs then took the lead when Maddison snaffled a rebound after Andre Onana could only palm a Lucas Bergall shot out in front of him.
Both sides looked fragile at the back and when Bruno Fernandes found Garnacho in oceans of space, the Argentine winger ought to have done better than scoop an ugly shot way over the crossbar.
Heung-Min Son created a chance for Mathys Tel on his home debut, that Onana managed to push behind this time. The striker on loan from Bayern Munich had a decent game, making a nuisance of himself and worked into a couple of good shooting positions that went some way towards plugging the gap left by the injured Dom Solanke.
Vicario had to be on his toes to block an angled effort from Garnacho after the break, with Pedro Porro doing his bit to make the chance less clear-cut by closing down well. But it was all the Italian's own work to keep out a rasping low effort from Garnacho soon after, that needed a very strong right arm.
Spurs were also grateful that Joshua Zirkzee could not quite direct a Noussair Mazraoui cross on target as United continued to threaten an equaliser during a second half in which they looked far more positive.
But this never looked like being a repeat of the goal bonanza here when Spurs beat United 4-3 in a chaotic Carabao Cup tie.
It did look as if Spurs might be punished for not cashing in when they were well on top before the interval but in the end they did just enough.
Spurs: (4-2-3-1) Vicario - Porro, Danso (Gray 78), Davies, Spence - Bergvall (Sarr 64), Bentancur (Bissouma 78) - Kulusevski, Maddison (Johnson 64), Son (Odobert 87) - Tel
United: (3-4-2-1) Onana - de Ligt, Maguire, Mazraoui - Dorgu, Casemiro (Obi 91), Bruno Fernades, Dalot - Zirkzee, Garnacho - Hojlund
Attendance: 61,383
Comments