The Premier League continued its summer comeback this Saturday evening with some very nice displays. After Liverpool’s success against Bournemouth (3-1) at Anfield, Manchester United moved to London to cross swords with Tottenham. For this duel, coach Ange Postecoglou concocted a 4-2-3-1 very similar to the previous day. Only Emerson and Oliver Skipp give way respectively to Pedro Porro and Pape Matar Sarr. For his part, Erik Ten Hag lined up a 4-1-4-1 identical to that against Wolves with in particular André Onana in goal, Raphaël Varane in central defense. The Batavian tactician continues to trust Mason Mount, little to his advantage in midfield since his arrival.
In the first period, the Red Devils were quick to put a lot of pressure, thanks in particular to Alejandro Garnacho who quickly showed his percussive qualities (2nd, 5th). The Brazilian striker led a great opportunity with the ball at his feet and Marcus Rashford, alongside him, followed well into the box. The Englishman stole the leather from the Brazilian and challenged goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to a duel. The former Empoli goalkeeper projected himself well to win this face to face (13th). On a nice service from Rashford, Garnacho almost offered a good action but he missed his control at the penalty point (15th). The first act was punctuated by Mancunian attempts: Rashford’s header spun just above the Spurs cages after a superb collective number between Bruno Fernandes and Garnacho (25th). Manchester United could even have had a penalty for a handball by Cristian Romero, but the referee Mr. Michael Oliver estimated, with the help of the VAR, that the position of the Argentine defender was legal (27th). Bruno Fernandes also missed the inevitable on a cross from Luke Shaw (37th). Apart from a big save from Onana on a strike from Sarr (31st) and the post from Pedro Porro (40th), Tottenham had a hard time resisting Mancunian domination.
Pape Matar Sarr wakes up the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium!
During the second half, Spurs put their opponents back against the wall perfectly. Indeed, after a counter led by Kulusevski and a ball badly blocked by Lisandro Martinez, the Senegalese international Pape Matar Sarr emerged to land a shot that deceived André Onana (49th, 1-0). The Cameroonian goalkeeper also saved his team from another goal, a few minutes later on an attempt by Son (52nd). Like this Antony post (51st), Manchester United tried to regain the same rhythm and the same domination as in the first period, but it was without counting on a great goalkeeper, Guglielmo Vicario, author of a total of 6 parries during the match. The North Londoners trembled on the powerful helmet shot of Casemiro (56th) and the strike of Bruno Fernandes (59th) but twice, the native of Udine in Italy was simply impassable this evening.
And finally, while the Red Devils were still pushing, it was at this precise moment that the players of Postecoglou decided to carry out a collective movement perfectly concluded by Ben Davies, finally granted in CSC to the Argentinian defender Lisandro Martinez (83rd). This is the goal of the break and a precious victory locked for the Spurs (2-0). In the standings, Manchester United suffered its first setback of the season, while Tottenham pocketed three precious points and now has 4 units to make a more than correct start to the English exercise. Next weekend, the Red Devils host Notthingham Forest at Old Trafford. Spurs will go to Bournemouth on Matchday 3 of the Premier League.
