Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Manchester United
‘Simply unbeatable’.
That was how a television presenter described the performance of David De Gea as the full-time whistle sounded at Wembley.
It was hard to find a better summing up of this Premier League clash.
The Spanish number one was simply superb as he made a series of first class saves time and time again in a one-sided second half.
SBOBET fans of a Spurs leaning will wonder how their side failed to win the game, let alone lost, yet in De Gea the hosts came up against one-man barrier.
Based on the second 45 minutes, he can submit his own personal compilation of 2019 Premier League highlights.
Highlights of the game
Entertainment was expected and it certainly delivered, none more so than De Gea as Manchester United made it six wins out of six under interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
While Spurs fans may argue their own side weren’t clinical enough and that some efforts were straight at the shot-stopper, others produced stops the Spaniard had little right to make.
The pick of them saw him deny Toby Alderweireld with brilliant reflexes after the Belgian defender got to a corner before Marcus Rashford.
The second, again with his feet, denied the tireless Harry Kane and the third kept out Dele Alli as the midfielder ran clean through.
The fact Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino said the second half showing was the best he’d seen during his four and a half years in charge of the north Londoners said it all.
With Pochettino and Solskjaer in charge, it seems belief emanates from players on both sides and this was an utterly compelling spectacle.
In the first half, United had actually edged the contest and scored what turned out to be the winning goal a minute before the break.
Paul Pogba’s pass split open the home left hand side, Rashford ran clear and, from an acute angle, fired perfectly across goal beyond Hugo Lloris.
Rashford has now scored in three consecutive Premier League games for the first time in his career.
As well as coming up against De Gea, Spurs – bidding to win three consecutive top-flight meetings with United for the first time since 1960 – were also unfortunate to lose Moussa Sissoko to a hamstring injury moments before United’s goal.
It summed up their day and, with Son Heung-Min now set to depart for the Asia Cup, they can only hope the sight of Kane limping at the full-time whistle is not as the result of a serious injury.
This victory boosts United’s outside chances of a top four finish.
And while few can argue their defence needs strengthening, despite a third clean sheet in a row which means they have kept consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time this season, this result also showed belief has been strengthened within the ranks of the Red Devils in recent weeks.
United were eight points behind Arsenal when Solskjaer took temporary charge on December 19 – they are now level. Food for thought?
Key statistics
De Gea’s 11 saves for United in this contest were the most saves he’s made in a top-flight league match without conceding a goal.
Solskjaer has equaled Sir Matt Busby’s all-time record of winning his first five league games in charge of United.
Tottenham have lost just twice in 12 matches in all competitions, winning nine and drawing one.
Spurs have lost consecutive Premier League home fixtures for the first time since May 2015.
They have lost five of their nine Premier League matches at Wembley against top-six teams.
Spurs are on a club record run of 27 consecutive league matches without a draw (won 19, lost seven) since a 1-1 stalemate at Brighton last April.
Pogba has scored four goals and set up four in his last five games.
Rashford has been directly involved in 10 goals in his last nine Premier League games, scoring five and assisting five.
What’s next?
A trio of away games in London await Spurs who are back in action a week today (January 20) when they travel to neighbours Fulham before another derby in the capital – the second leg of their League Cup semi-final at Chelsea.
There’s then a trip to Crystal Palace in the fourth round of the FA Cup before they conclude a busy January by hosting Watford.
Man Utd welcome Brighton to Old Trafford next weekend and are then back in action in North London with a trip to Arsenal in the FA Cup. They round off the month by entertaining Burnley on January 29.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
