The above quote was first uttered about 20-25 years ago by former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, and it was directed at his squad during a pre-game speech. United legend Roy Keane often tells the story of how the above quote was all Ferguson needed to say to let the players know what he expected them to do against Tottenham Hotspur. Yes they are/were well-organized and have lots of neat and tidy passing, but in the end the Red Devils knew they could go and get a result.
Tottenham hasn’t changed much over the past two decades either, which is why the above quote is so often repeated in online forums and on social media even today. They are a talented side no doubt, but their current tactical system under manager Nuno Espirito Santo leaves a lot to be desired. Players such as Harry Kane and Son Heung-min are not being utilized to their maximum potential, and Spurs appear to be a side unwilling to take major risks with the ball.
Of course, both United and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were under massive pressure today to deliver a positive result of their own, coming off the embarrassing home defeat to Liverpool last weekend. If OGS did not win today, he knew he likely would be sacked in the morning. Given this situation, OGS decided to switch up the team and tactics a bit. A tactical shake-up was indeed needed, with the normal 4-2-3-1 being scrapped in favor of the fairly-unused 3-4-3/5-2-3. United were happy to have center-back Raphael Varane back from injury, and he was the main central defender today in the back 3.
As soon as the match kicked off at Tottenham’s shiny new stadium, it was clear United were content to sit back and let Tottenham have the ball. I was immediately apprehensive about this strategy, because it’s the exact reason we lost to Liverpool and Leicester City before that. When we aren’t aggressive on the ball, talented teams have the ability to play it around us and create chances.
In the opening 30 minutes or so the match was very defensive though and it looked like Tottenham were struggling to break us down when in possession. Outside of the occasional set-piece, they were really struggling to create good chances. They had a goal correctly ruled out for offside, and before that Son should have done better from close range after the ball was worked around from a cleared free kick. United hadn’t really looked great going forward either, but the defense appeared to be much-improved from last week. Varane, plus the midfield duo of Fred and Scott McTominay in the 3-4-3, really helped with that.
Fred stung the palms of Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris from long range on 32 minutes, and at that point you could sense United growing into the game from an attacking perspective. The opener came on 38 minutes via a pass over the top from Bruno Fernandes in midfield, who found the run of Cristiano Ronaldo towards the right hand post of the goal. Ronaldo sublimely hit the ball on a one-touch volley back across Lloris low and with power, and the technique he used to hit it was simply stunning. For any other player its a career highlight, but for Ronaldo its just another amazingly athletic goal on a laundry list of many. Despite things looking a little tentative at times, United had the lead. Great vision and pass from Bruno, and a world-class finish from Ronaldo. United went into halftime 1-0 ahead and feeling much better than they did this time last week.
United continued to grow into the game as the second half got underway, and Ronaldo thought he had his 2nd on the day after a fine run and finish into the top corner. The linesman raised his flag though and the goal was ruled out for offside. It probably was the correct decision, but it was a shame to take such a strong finish off the books. The warning signs were there for Tottenham though – their back line had all kinds of problems tracking our runners in behind them. The movement of Ronaldo and fellow striker Edinson Cavani wreaked havoc on their marking.
And it was Bruno, Ronaldo, and Cavani that all combined for United’s second goal on 63 minutes. Bruno won the ball high up the pitch and played it into the path of Ronaldo. Ronaldo positioned himself like he was going to run at his defender, but instead he cut it back inside and played a smart pass onto a lurking Cavani to his left. Cavani took a touch on the ball to get it around the on-rushing Lloris, and he then chipped it over the Tottenham keeper for 2-0. A great pass and finish, but it was all started by Bruno knowing when to press and effectively doing it. Given Tottenham’s lack of creativity, the match was now very much in United’s hands.
A few minutes later, Marcus Rashford was subbed on for Ronaldo so that he could begin his recovery and prepare for the Champions League match in midweek. United’s defense took over again at that point, and it became clear that Tottenham would not be scoring in this match. Attack after attack was cleared by the United back line, and Tottenham were shooting themselves in the foot a bit with poor finishing and even-poorer decision making. Cavani gave the ball away badly to Kane at one point, but Kane waffled on the ball and was unsure if to pass it or shoot it. The United defense capitalized on his indecision and cleared the ball quickly. It’s obvious that Kane is mentally a bit off right now, because on most days he makes the opposition pay in a situation like that.
United got a 3rd via Rashford next, and it was a fairly similar goal to the second one. United had the ball in midfield and fellow substitute Nemanja Matic played a ball through the Tottenham backline and on to the run of Rashford. The Spurs defenders couldn’t cope with the movement of Ronaldo and Cavani all day, so they had no chance at catching Rashford when he was fresh off the bench. Rashford pushed the ball straight at the left side of the goal before opening up his body and slotting it home past Lloris at the far post. A good pass and finish, but the Tottenham defense was fairly poor. Still, take nothing away from Rashford. Since his return from injury, he has scored 3 goals in 3 matches. After that it was job done and points sealed. United also managed to secure their first clean sheet in quite awhile, so credit to David De Gea for that achievement on what was a fairly lowkey day for him.
The biggest takeaway from today is that for the first time in several matches it looked like United had a cohesive plan and a clear vision of how they wanted to play this game. We sat back and let them have the ball, and when they couldn’t break us down we punished them with a quick counter-attack or by winning the ball off them high up the pitch. Against Liverpool it looked like we had no idea how to press, but against Tottenham we look like the best pressing team in the Premier League. Credit to OGS and his staff for getting the tactics right, while also making the correct substitutions.
It must be said that Tottenham were very poor today. They are certainly not playing to the level they are capable of, and Nuno will now begin to feel his own managerial seat warming up as well. They look like they don’t know how to score goals, and their back line was undone today by two forwards who are 36 and 34 years old respectively. They have some of their own soul-searching to do if they want to have some success this season. The transfer saga of Kane needs to be put to rest, for a start. Is he staying? Is he not? All that conjecture and speculation about a team’s best player can be a huge distraction for other players.
Three goals and a clean sheet in a Premier League match is always worth a celebration, but OGS’s job is still far from secure. The next two matches will likely decide his tenure – away to Atalanta in the Champions League in midweek and then the Manchester Derby next weekend. If we win both of those, I think OGS stays for the season. If we lose them both or put in some otherwise-lackluster performances, I think OGS will be on his way out. The rumor mill this past week has had a ton of managers linked to us, and it seems like Antonio Conte and Brendan Rodgers are the frontrunners. I’d much prefer Conte if that is indeed the scenario, but only time will tell what happens.
United now sit 5th in the Premier League, 8 points behind league leaders Chelsea. Man of the Match today is Bruno, but you could also argue for Ronaldo or Varane. Glory glory Man United!
4-4-2 