Fred stood out, but Harry Kane and Son Heung-min were sub-par as Manchester United beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 on Wednesday.
Manchester United pushed from the start against a cautious Tottenham and dominated Antonio Conte’s men throughout the evening. The scorecard could have been shambolic had Hugo Lloris not gotten into the thick of things with a few top-notch saves.
Antony’s curling effort kissed the post, as Manchester United laid down an early marker. Fred had his shot saved as Lloris tipped it over the bar while Luke Shaw also saw his well-managed volley kept apart by the French number one.
And the breakthrough finally came just after the break. Jadon Sancho teed up to Fred whose shot deflected off Ben Davies and found the net. The buildup to the second goal was even better. Despite Harry Kane being flagged offside, the referee did not signal to stop the game, and the continuation paid a heavy price to the visitors.
Fred was again involved as his shot came off Eric Dier. The ball comfortably came to Bruno Fernandes who curled it to the far corner beyond the reach of Lloris. The Hard Tackle now runs the rule over Erik ten Hag and Antonio Conte’s men.
Cristiano Ronaldo stormed down the tunnel with four minutes left to play 😳 pic.twitter.com/Nb5pff9DiX
— GOAL (@goal) October 19, 2022
Manchester United
David de Gea: 7/10
David de Gea had a relatively better distribution than the last game and was not tested much by the Tottenham attackers. His save of Harry Kane started the move for the second goal.
Diogo Dalot: 8/10
After encountering a frustrating outing against Newcastle, it was a much-improved performance from the Portuguese defender. He ;ed the attacking threat with a commanding performance and also won his duels against Ivan Perisic.
Lisandro Martinez: 8/10
Martinez had Harry Kane in his pockets throughout the game and did not provide an inch of room for the Tottenham striker.
Raphael Varane: 8/10
Varane put the ball out of the danger mark even before anyone could understand. He shunned away all the attacking movements with ease.
Luke Shaw: 8/10
Shaw produced one of his best displays at Old Trafford. The left-back hardly allowed any kind of movements from his side and also had a shot saved by Hugo Lloris.
Casemiro: 8/10
Manchester United are finally getting the player they splashed the money on. The Brazilian was very calm and composed on the ball and managed to spark some magical moments on the pitch by breaking up play.
Ten Hag on Casemiro: 'This team, this club, needed a player like him. He showed in the last games what he can do for the team.' #mufc
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) October 19, 2022
Fred: 9/10
Fred perhaps sealed his place in Brazil’s World Cup squad with this performance. He was all over the pitch, and the goal was a result of his distinctive vision.
Antony: 7/10
Antony was in his usual starry antics and even almost scored with a curling effort.
Bruno Fernandes: 8/10
The Portuguese playmaker influenced the game with another tenacious shift, and he needs to be praised for that crowd-pleasing goal. Bruno Fernandes also completed a game-high nine key passes, the most chances any player has created in a game this season.
9 – Bruno Fernandes created nine chances in Manchester United's 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, the most by a player in a Premier League game since Bruno Fernandes created 10 against Aston Villa last September. Orchestrator. pic.twitter.com/N9zFof4HDF
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 19, 2022
Jadon Sancho: 6/10
Sancho tried hard but could not impact the game. He needs to stop overcomplicating things in the final third.
Marcus Rashford: 7/10
Rashford should have scored at least once, and his finishing needs major improvements. But he was brilliant off the ball and gave the Tottenham defence much to worry about.
SUBSTITUTES
Scott McTominay: 6/10
McTominay, returning from suspension, got good minutes under his belt.
Anthony Elanga: N/A
Did not play enough to guarantee a rating.
Christian Eriksen: N/A
Did not play enough to guarantee a rating.
Tottenham Hotspur
Hugo Lloris: 9/10
Had Tottenham managed to grab a point, they would have been indebted to Lloris, who kept his team in the game with a flurry of saves.
Hugo Lloris’ game by numbers vs. Manchester United:
84% pass accuracy
47 touches
9 long balls completed
8 saves
4 saves from close range
1 clearanceJust wasn’t enough. 🤷 pic.twitter.com/Hr087fDLL2
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) October 19, 2022
Cristian Romero: 4/10
Romero was erratic with his passing and pretty casual at times. The Argentine did not have the best outing.
Eric Dier: 4/10
Dier should have challenged Bruno Fernandes in the build-up to the second goal. Some poor decisions cost the match.
Ben Davies: 5/10
Davies was the least error-prone among the three defenders. But it was his deflection that wrong-footed Lloris in the first goal.
Matt Doherty: 5/10
Doherty could not get past Luke Shaw on most occasions. He also struggled defensively as Manchester United ran riot.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: 5/10
Hojbjerg tried to keep the tempo high, but Manchester United’s classy midfielders got the better of him easily.
Rodrigo Bentancur: 4/10
Bentancur acted as a part of the midfield three. But barring a few patches, he could not control the game.
Yves Bissouma: 4/10
Conte’s ploy to keep the midfield battle in Tottenham’s favour did not strike well as the former Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder was indisciplined with his decision-making.
Ivan Perisic: 5/10
Perisic tried his best to offer more threat in the final third through the left channel, but a combative Dalot did not allow it to happen much.
Harry Kane: 4/10
Whenever Kane, the player to watch in our preview, was on the ball, a couple of Manchester United players would be near him trying to get him outmuscled. The English striker had a night to forget.
Lisandro Martinez is in the discussion for defensive signing of the season for the PL and essentially all clubs in the major leagues.
It’s outrageous how much of an impact he’s had at United on and off the ball. Pocketed Kane and Son tonight alongside Varane.
Absolute beast.
— EiF (@EiFSoccer) October 19, 2022
Son Heung-min: 3/10
It was pretty hard to digest that the South Korean was even on the pitch. Son was anonymous throughout and should do better in the bigger games for Tottenham.
SUBSTITUTES
Lucas Moura: N/A
Did not play enough to guarantee a rating.
Djed Spence: N/A
Did not play enough to guarantee a rating.
Oliver Skipp: N/A
Did no play enough to guarantee a rating.
Ryan Sessegnon: N/A
Did not play enough to guarantee a rating.
Davinson Sanchez: N/A
Did not play enough to guarantee a rating.
