Man United 2 Spurs 0
Another convincing win for United under Michael Carrick. Of course the red card plays a part in how the game pans out but United were dominant against a Spurs side which is quite strong away from home, just ask Ruben Amorim how easy it is to beat 10-men at home and you can see that it’s not a given you’ll win with an extra man. If you read my review on that Everton match a couple of months ago, you’ll have seen how upset I was at how Amorim approached the game before and after the red card. This game played out completely different to that Everton one with United creating chance after chance and eventually opening the scoring thanks to a brilliant corner routine with Mainoo slipping the ball back to Mbeumo who slides it past Vicario. From there United were comfortable but at 1-0 they had to find another goal and that’s what Fernandes supplied from a brilliant cross from Dalot to seal all 3 points.
Cristian Romero yet again costs Spurs. The match was relatively even up until Romero decides to follow through recklessly on Casemiro to get himself a well deserved red card and more or less end Spurs’ hopes of getting a result. Romero will now miss 4 matches in the league and with Tottenham struggling for players at the minute he’s going to be a huge miss in a tough run of fixtures for Spurs. I’ve always thought Romero was a very good player but that rashness lets his teammates down far too often. He’s been in the headlines this week for calling out Spurs’ board for the poor January business but you have to lead as an example when your the captain and when your team is struggling for form you have to step up but Romero let his team down badly in this game and will have to watch from the stands over the next month in the league.
United’s midfield yet again dominates in a big game. It’s been a theme under Michael Carrick so far but I’m really enjoying the performances in the middle of the park from Casemiro-Mainoo-Fernandes at the minute. Bruno yet again got man of the match but I’ve got to say Mainoo was the best player on the pitch for me yet again, his calmness on the ball and ability to evade challenges when under pressure is mesmeric at times and I hate to harp on about it but I still can’t believe Ruben Amorim wasn’t using him in at least some capacity over his tenure. Regardless that midfield 3 is the best part of United’s team at the minute with Fernandes arguably the best player in the league on current form and again showed his quality for the second goal letting the ball hit his shin to keep it down past Vicario to secure the 3 points for United.
More misery for Thomas Frank. I don’t think Spurs were playing too bad before the sending off in the 30th minute creating a couple of half-chances that would have worried United but after the red card they didn’t really lay a glove on United with Maguire and Martinez handling Solanke brilliantly for the whole game. Frank took off Odobert for Dragusin after the red card and I wonder if leaving Odobert on would have allowed Spurs to counter attack quicker and give them a chance to get out after a United attack but Frank opted to go defensive which could have worked if they had kept the game at 0-0 for longer. The injury worries continue for Tottenham as it looked like Udogie pulled up with a hamstring injury in the second half to add to the long list of injuries Thomas Frank has to deal with. The fixtures don’t get any easier as Spurs have Newcastle and Arsenal in their next 2 games which could pull them closer to the relegation places if they’re not able to pick up some points soon.
Top 4/5 is more than achievable for this United team. This result leaves United in 4th moving 5 points ahead of Liverpool who play City tomorrow and moves them to within 2 points of Aston Villa who got to Bournemouth later on, Chelsea are 4 points off United but play Wolves later on so presuming they win will go to within a point of United and suddenly the table is looking pretty good from a United perspective. The midweek games coming up are huge for United as they go to West Ham who in good form and with Liverpool playing Sunderland away they could perceivably be 6-8 points clear of Liverpool if results go their way. The fixtures are favourable for United who only have the league to focus on until May, there is no reason as to why they shouldn’t be gunning for at least that 3rd spot come the end of the season, hopefully an exciting few months ahead for United as they look to finish in the Champions League spots.