By Safiu Kehinde
In what can be described as a relief for their under-fire boss, Manchester United humbled Tottenham Hotspur with a three-goal showdown at White Hart Lane stadium.
The Red Devils showed a bit of redemption after last week’s humiliating defeat to Liverpool. Ole Gunner Solskajaer made some tactical changes in tonight’s match, carving out a 3-5-2 formation and pairing Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani up front. The tactics paid off as both strikers recorded their names on the score sheet.
Following a brilliant cross from Bruno Fernandes, Ronaldo volleyed the ball past Tottenham’s goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris as he puts Manchester United into the lead in the first half.
Ronaldo’s stellar performance sparked a blight of hope for United fans and puts off the pressure from the club’s boss — who is said to be struggling to retain his job.
The 36-year-old would later provide an assist in the 64th minutes for Edinson Cavani, making him the second oldest player to both score a goal and provided assist in the same Premier League game. Didier Drogba, in 2014, recorded same feat against Tottenham at the age of 36 years and 267 days old.
Meanwhile, the third goal came from super-sub, Marcus Rashford. Cristiano Ronaldo paved way for Rashford who picked up from where the Manchester United’s legend stopped. Having picked a slicing through ball from Nemanja Matic, Rashford found himself in a 1-on-1 with Hugo Lloris who he successfully scaled through with his right foot in the 86th minutes.
Although Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed 58% dominance, but that did not get them off their struggling run having won just two out of their last five Premier League outing.
Nuno Espirito’s boys were wasteful in front of goal as they recorded zero shots on target. They had 6 shots off target and were ruled offside in four attempts. The Lilywhites also recorded ten corner kicks — none of which break the jinx.
Today’s defeat left Spurs in the 8th position while Manchester United scampered to the 5th on the table — sharing same points as West Ham (4th) and Arsenal (6th).
