Tottenham Hotspur hosted fellow strugglers in what could also be a defining moment of their Premier League campaign and it showed from the get-go that it would be a tight affair due to the conservative approach both teams might want to take but United got the better of Tottenham and won by 3-0.
Ronaldo and Cavani both started upfront for the first time this season with a new set-up for United playing with 5 defenders with Wan Bissaka and Luke Shaw running the flanks. It worked for United as Ronaldo, Cavani and Rashford all scored the crucial goals needed to lift United into 5th position on the table. United managed to grind out the result and they did. It wasn't the best of performance but they would take this especially with how recent performances have been.
United had the first taste of effort on goal in the 9th minute after Wan Bissaka's individual brilliance on the side of the pitch led to him finding space to pick out a teammate but it was Cavani who pounced on the ball and not Ronaldo and the effort was blocked by Eric Dier. It was half a chance anyway but it's worth the effort.
Tottenham wasted two clear chances; one from a freekick that was blocked off the wall and Son being played through on the edge of the box only for him to strike his effort over the bar inside the box, maybe just a yard out.
Shortly after, in the 25th minute, a counterattack broke for United and Bruno Fernandes was set free. His touch let him down and be tried to pick out Cavani and he did but Cavani's header went wide.
Tottenham thought they had the lead in the 28th minute after Eric Dier flicked the ball into the direction of Romero who had to bundle the ball into the back of the net with his body but the linesman correctly flagged for offside.
Manchester United got their first corner of the game after Ronaldo picked out Fred and he unleashed a wonderful strike that took the full stretch of Hugo Lloris to push it out for a corner kick. It is obvious that United are struggling with this setup but it's understandable why they want to keep it contained especially with the terrible results they have been getting of late.
Son looked destined to score in the 35th minute after he was sent racing on goal but it took the brilliance of Wan Bissaka who had to make a last-ditch stop to block the ball for a corner kick even though the linesman already flagged Son for offside.
United got the lead in the 39th minute after Ronaldo was picked out inside the box by Bruno Fernandes and he wasted no time in blasting his shot into the back of the net even from a tight angle. He seems to fancy scoring against Tottenham and what a goal that was.
The second half barely started and De Gea's poor clearance fell to Lucas Moura in the 47th minute. He found Son who failed to hit the shot on the target. A minute after, Ronaldo thought he had doubled the advantage when he blasted the ball into the back of the net when he was found with a near-perfect through pass but the linesman flagged him for offside.
This new formation seem to suit United well because they were not committing too many players forward and with Cavani and Ronaldo up there, they expected the duo to be clinical. They showed they can play together in the 65th minute when Ronaldo found Cavani with a clever pass and he guided the ball into the back of the net with such accuracy and technique to double United's advantage.
Rashford replaced Cavani and he justified his introduction yet again as he had done ever since he came back from injury. He was found with a perfect through ball in the 86th minute and he scored with a cool composed finish to extend United's lead. Tottenham had been awful, to say the least, and Harry Kane cut an anonymous figure. United would be happy to kick start their confidence with such a win as this and also a clean sheet which eluded them all season save one but it isn't looking so good for the head coach of Tottenham.
United won the game by 3 goals without a reply from Spurs.
Thank you for your time.
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