Tottenham Hotspur refuse to give up on their Premier League title dream. What a strange game this was, and how bizarre Manchester United were on so many levels, but Mauricio Pochettino’s team found that three quick-fire punches towards the end added up to the knockout.
There had been a measure of deflation in Tottenham’s ranks beforehand when the leaders, Leicester, closed out their victory at Sunderland. Pochettino and his players had hoped that this would be the day when Leicester slipped but the excruciating wait goes on.
It was left to Tottenham to do their job, to keep up what pressure they could on the unlikely leaders and, in a game that took an age to come to the boil, they did precisely that. United had gone close to the opening goal through Anthony Martial in the 61st minute – their only chance of the afternoon – but the tide turned when Dele Alli ran on to Christian Eriksen’s cross from the left to sweep past David de Gea.
What happened next advertised the ruthless streak that Pochettino has instilled at White Hart Lane, together with United’s emptiness and odd melancholy. Toby Alderweireld lost Marcos Rojo on an Érik Lamela free-kick to head the second and Lamela landed the final blow, when he pounced in front of Daley Blind to ram home Danny Rose’s low cross.
The three goals had come inside six minutes and it could have been a more chastening experience for United but De Gea tipped over a Harry Kane header, Kyle Walker hit the post and Mousa Dembélé went close in a one-on-one.
Pochettino could justifiably salute the character of his team but what of United? They had arrived late after their team bus was snarled up in traffic – the kick-off was delayed by 30 minutes – and they were in contention until Alli’s goal without ever imposing themselves.
Louis van Gaal talked a great deal about Martial’s chance, which was entirely of his own making and ended with him shooting too close to Hugo Lloris but it was United’s only moment of note as an attacking force and, not for the first time, the performance left their supporters feeling flat.
Van Gaal seems to think that it is acceptable merely to stay in a game – with the chance to nick a result – and, if not, take the draw. It remains a tough sell and this was a setback to the club’s hopes of scrambling to a top-four finish.
United got nothing because they fell apart in defence. Timothy Fosu-Mensah had played well at right-back but when he was forced off through injury to be replaced by Matteo Darmian, United were vulnerable. Darmian conceded the free-kick for Alderweireld’s goal while Tottenham’s other two came up his flank.
At full time, the United assistant manager, Ryan Giggs, had to order the players to go over to applaud the travelling fans. Apart from Michael Carrick, they gave the task a wide berth. The half-heartedness spoke volumes.
The travails of the United team bus had led to plenty of gags – many of them based on the notion that Van Gaal’s team have not turned up all season – and it all felt pretty strange. But the pre-match mood-killer from Tottenham’s point of view was the Leicester result.
United were good for the first 20 minutes or so, giving Tottenham little room for manoeuvre with their pressing. And yet there was precious little incision from them and one moment summed things up. Morgan Schneiderlin took out two Tottenham players with a 24th-minute back-heel but Rojo ballooned the subsequent cross too deep.
The only glimmers of threat before the interval were crammed into a 90-second spell before the half-hour. They all came from Tottenham. De Gea flapped at a cross and, just when Kane scented an opportunity, he was snuffed out by the impressive Fosu-Mensah.
Tottenham recycled the move and Eriksen’s cross was made to measure for Lamela. Unmarked at the far post and only six yards from goal, Lamela headed wide. It was a horrible miss by the Argentinian. Walker then made a driving run and he jinked inside Rojo but Fosu-Mensah leapt into a tackle that stopped him.
Van Gaal made a change at half-time, when he withdrew the ineffective centre-forward, Marcus Rashford, and sent on Ashley Young.
To general surprise, it was not for Young to play on the left and Martial to switch through the middle; rather a straight swap. Young, the winger and sometime full-back, who last scored almost a year ago, would lead the line.
Van Gaal is nothing if not quirky. His lineup continued to feature Jesse Lingard, a winger, in the No10 role and Mata, a No10, on the right. When Fosu-Mensah was forced off for treatment in the 63rd minute, Young briefly dropped to right-back. At 3-0, Van Gaal brought on Memphis Depay for Mata, switched Young to the right and pushed Martial up front.
Tottenham worked De Gea on a number of occasions in the first part of the second half without extending him fully, and it was United who almost went ahead. Martial ripped past three defenders and the shooting chance opened up but Lloris stood tall.
How Tottenham then turned the screw. Alli was booked for diving in the 90th minute but it did not matter. Tottenham retain hope.
Man of the match Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur)
