Manchester United put in a thrilling performance as they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Old Trafford thanks to goals from star players Fred and Bruno Fernandez.
Two second-half goals brought Manchester United three points at Old Trafford on Wednesday night as they suffered their second Premier League defeat of the season.
Fred’s deflected goal and Bruno Fernandes’ shot put the hosts ahead, but it took the superb play of Hugo Lloris, who made a number of important saves throughout the match, to prevent further punishment.
Antonio Conte made only one change to the squad that made its debut in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Everton. Yves Bissouma came on as a substitute in place of Richarlison, who suffered a calf injury against his former club. Japhet Tanganga returned to the bench and Dejan Kulusevski was left out.
Eric ten Haag’s side were clearly keen to forget the disappointment of their recent 0-0 draw with Newcastle. The Reds had 19 shots on goal in the first half, and Fred finally broke through shortly after the break.
Fernandez’s stunning goal crowned perhaps the best performance in team history since Haig took over in the summer.
“United started energetically, with captain Fernandez taking over in midfield and deftly finding space between Spurs’ central trio. Antoni and Diogo Dalot were unable to prevent Hugo Lloris from interfering, and Rodrigo Bentacur deflected a header away from David de Gea’s goal.
Fernandez was again the catalyst when United troubled the North Londoners with a series of goal attempts. His superb pass freed Anthony as Spurs took the lead again and allowed the nimble striker to break through on the left. The Brazilian hit the ball into the left post of Llaurice’s goal and delighted the crowd.
From that moment on, only a series of excellent saves by Llaurice kept the score at 0-0. A pass from Fred put Marcus Rashford on the post, but his powerful shot was inaccurate and Llaurice saved it. The Frenchman then worked away a free-kick by Fernandes in extra time and a powerful shot by Luke Shaw that failed to find the goal.
Within 30 minutes, United had 14 shots on goal, with Bruno and Fred moving forward to support Rashford in midfield. There wasn’t the slow build-up of momentum that was evident at times in the disappointing 0-0 draw with Newcastle, when we orchestrated a series of intricate passes around the Spurs’ penalty area.
Anthony ended the first half with a brilliant shot in which the two balls closest to him went into the air, and Harry Kane shot straight at Hea – a timely reminder of the threat of Spurs’ counterattacks.
All of United’s efforts were rewarded within 76 seconds of the second half. Nineteen attempts knocked on Spurs’ goal in the first half and only one was needed in the second. Fred’s desire to take the lead led to him taking a pass from Sancho in a striking position on the edge of the penalty area. His shot deflected off Ben Davies and past the motionless Lloris to make it 1-0.
After the resumption of the game, Rashford exploded and struck another shot at the Spurs goal. United’s pressure forced Spurs to go deep and make mistakes, and Rashford, Fred and Bruno continued to thwart the visitors’ attempts to play from the back.
Kane, at the suggestion of Lisandro Martinez, began to drop deeper, trying to influence the game. The England striker had few chances all evening, but he put himself in a good position and forced De Gea to reactively deflect the ball. The flag was raised but referee Simon Hooper ordered play to continue as United returned to the pitch.
It was a decisive moment. Bruno finally scored a well-deserved goal on his own volley, heading over the diving Lioris. Fred’s persistence led to a second goal and almost led to a third when Rashford again fouled the brilliant Lloris, who deflected a powerful shot.
Rashford and Bruno almost created a fantastic combination for the third goal, but an offside flag prevented the captain from celebrating after he caught a pass that broke the defence and rounded Lloris with a cool feint.
United managed to produce Christian Eriksen against his former team – another positive for Ten Haag as the Dane recovers from illness. In truth, Spurs didn’t pose much of a threat, with the highlight being Martinez’s brutal tackle on Kane shortly before the final whistle.
4-2-3-1
De Gea, Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro (Eriksen), Fred, Antony (McTominay), Fernandes, Sancho (Elanga), Rashford.
Substitutes not used: Heaton, Lindelof, Malacia, Pellistri, Garnacho, Ronaldo
3-5-2
Lloris, Romero, Dier (Sanchez), Davies, Doherty (Sessegnon), Hojbjerg, Bissouma (Moura), Bentancur (Skipp), Perisic (Spence), Son, Kane.
Substitutes not used: Forster, Lenglet, Tanganga, Gil
47′ Fred
61′ Bruno Fernandes 69
Bookings:
Casemiro
Match Stats:
Possession
Man. Utd 52%
Tottenham 48%
Total Shots
Man. Utd 28
Tottenham 9
Shots on Target
Man. Utd 10
Tottenham 2
Corners
Man. Utd 8
Tottenham 3
Fouls
Man. Utd 7
Tottenham 7
Attacks
Man. Utd 134
Tottenham 95
Dangerous Attacks
Man. Utd 60
Tottenham 35
Referee: Simon Hooper
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
Player of the Match: Bruno Fernandes
