Interim 1 favourite 0 at Wembley, as United edge tight contest

In a frenetic and entertaining clash in the capital; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer further cemented his claims to take the Manchester United managerial job full time, by out manouvering key opponent Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham by one goal to nil. The match did not get off to the best start, as the ball often remained in the centre third of the field, changing ownership between the opposing midfield lines. Nevertheless, the battle between the two sides was fascinating.

The first chance of the game fell to the hosts, but it arguably fell to the wrong man. Harry Winks had ventured forward from the centre of the field, and after being played into the box by Dele Alli, the Englishman drove the ball just wide of the far post. It was unfortunate for Tottenham that his more deadly namesake had not been given the chance, as he would no doubt have hit the target at the very least. 

 

January 13, 2019

Following this scare, visitors United responded with a great chance of their own. Anthony Martial broke up the field, and after twisting and turning his way past defender Alderweireld, he drove the ball low and hard at the near post. Thankfully for Tottenham, keeper Lloris was aware of the danger, and thus, he reacted quickly to block the shot with his legs. 

The match then regressed back into the tactical battle between the respective midfield lines. Chances became hard to come by in the closing stages of the half, with each side being limited to pot-shots from long range, which never really looked like testing either goalkeeper. Just before the interval, Tottenham would be dealt a huge blow, as they would lose midfield general Mousa Sissoko to a suspected groin injury. His replacement Erik Lamela forced the hosts to change to a more attacking formation.

Just as the half was about to be brought to a close, the visitors landed a decisive blow. A poor attempted square pass by Kieran Trippier, intercepted acrobatically by Jesse Lingard, saw Paul Pogba given the chance to lift his head and pick out a team mate. The Frenchman took full advantage, measuring an excellent lofted ball over the Tottenham back line, and into the path of Marcus Rashford. From there, the forward tricked his way past Vertonghen into the box, before pushing the ball wide, and cutting a low driven shot across the helpless Lloris. United had nicked the lead before the break.

The second half of the encounter was much less a contest, and more like an onslaught, as Tottenham were relentless in their search for an equaliser. But for a mature, disciplined United defensive performance, we could well have been talking about a very different result. However, as it was, keeper David de Gea produced an emphatic individual display, as did the visiting defenders, as United would hang on for a huge victory. 

It could be argued that, as good as United were, Tottenham's finishing was woeful. Kane, Lamela and Alli all had chances to take aim at the United net from within the six yard box. Yet it seemed that the three men had lost the ability to score, as they would all shoot either directly at or very close to keeper De Gea, and as such, they were all denied the equaliser.

In fact, United could have even extended their lead midway through the half, with Frenchman Paul Pogba close to capping an immense performance with a goal. The midfielder, teed up by compatriot Martial, tried to sneak the ball into the side netting from the edge of the box. Only the quick reactions of Hugo Lloris kept the hosts within a goal of their guests.

As the match entered the final ten minutes, Tottenham had still yet to break through a resilient United rearguard. Manager Mauricio Pochettino therefore opted to throw on the in form Fernando Llorente, to add a more obvious target man to the Tottenham attack. Sure enough, the Spaniard would come on to great effect; chesting down a long ball on the edge of the penalty area, and producing an intelligent lobbed pass to the back post for strike partner Harry Kane. Unfortunately for Tottenham, Kane missed the attempted pass by a whisker. 

Alas, it was not meant to be for the hosts, as the final whistle sounded, handing a hard fought victory to Manchester United.

 

January 13, 2019

Overall, both sides would argue that they played well enough to take the spoils from the game. However, after having the composure required to open the scoring, visitors United displayed a different, defensive solidity to their game, that had yet to be revealed under their interim boss.Therefore, given a series of excellent individual displays across the rejuvenated squad, it is fair to say that they had earned the points at Wembley. 

So, in the battle of interim coach and the favourite, it was the stand in that produced the better audition for the permanent managerial role at Old Trafford. That's six wins on the spin for Solskjaer, a new club record, as he can be very much considered near the top of the list of candidates to take the 'Red Devils' forward come the summer.