Manchester United 1-0 Tottenham: Anthony Martial nets late winner for hosts as Jose Mourinho's men bounce back following Huddersfield defeat

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It may be an insult to describe Tottenham Hotspur as The Harry Kane Team but a match that they might have won against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday served mainly to illustrate the point that when the current England captain is not in the side, they miss him terribly. Spurs had the chance to prove the Kane doctrine wrong and they blew it.

A fiercely contested clash that hinged on one missed chance by Dele Alli and one expert finish from Anthony Martial demonstrated once more that Kane is the difference between Spurs being title contenders and a team that is stuck in the purgatory inhabited by nearly men.

Time and again, Spurs are hailed as the coming force in the Premier League and time and again, they fall short. Their exit from the Carabao Cup last week was used by many as an excuse to remind them how long it is since they have won a trophy of any sort. Results like this underline the sense that when it comes to the crunch, they are still not equipped to win a trophy.

Anthony Martial scored the only goal of the game at Old Trafford as Manchester United narrowly beat Tottenham 1-0

The French winger wheels off to celebrate after netting the all-important goal during the cagey Premier League affair

Martial pictured firing home the winner with his left foot after latching on to Romelu Lukaku's forward header

Martial's winner ensured that United bounced back from their shock league defeat against Huddersfield last weekend

Lukaku hit the post for the Red Devils with a powerful header just moments before Martial's late winner

Dele Alli had a golden opportunity to give Tottenham the lead in the 77th minute but he spurned the chance

Alli was brilliantly found by Christian Eriksen but the England midfielder was made to pay for his missed effort

The rain pours down at Old Trafford as both sides looked to maintain the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester City

PLAYER RATINGS, LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE  

Manchester United (3-4-1-2): De Gea 7; Bailly 7; Smalling 6.5; Jones 7; Valencia 6.5; Herrera 6.5; Matic 7; Young 7 (Darmian 90+3); Mkhitaryan 5.5 (Lingard 64 - 6.5); Lukaku 6.5; Rashford 6.5 (Martial 69 - 7)

Subs not used: Mata; Blind; Romero; McTominay

Scorers: Martial 81

Booked: Valencia

Tottenham (3-5-2): Lloris 5.5; Alderweireld 6.5; Dier 6.5; Vertonghen 7; Aurier 6.5; Sissoko 5.5 (Dembele 62 - 6); Winks 6; Eriksen 6; Davies 7.5; Son 6 (Llorente 62 - 5.5); Alli 5.5

Subs not used: Trippier; Rose; Sanchez; Vorm; Nkoudou  

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This is how Anthony Martial won the game for Manchester United. The Frenchman latched onto Romelu Lukaku's header following David de Gea's goal kick. CLICK HERE to find out more from MATCH ZONE. 

 

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And so as the seconds ticked down, the United fans taunted the opposition supporters with chants of ‘have you ever seen Tottenham win the league?’ With ten minutes to go, their side had been staring down the barrel of a third match without a victory but they will feel that the momentum they lost with their drab 0-0 draw at Liverpool and last week’s defeat at Huddersfield has been regained.

United, in contrast to Spurs, are a team with potent options up front and while Spurs looked hobbled without Kane, Jose Mourinho used the wealth of attacking talent available in his ranks to turn the game as it entered its last ten minutes and wrest back some momentum for a team whose early season form had been faltering.

Spurs had looked, frankly, shorn of a focal point when Heung-min Son was playing alone up front in Kane’s role. Spurs were the better team for much of the first half but they never looked remotely like breaking through United’s defences.

And when they did finally prise United’s back four apart in the closing stages of the game with the sweetest of drifted passes from the Danish magician, Christian Eriksen, it was not Kane who was there to apply the finishing touch but Dele Alli. And Alli contrived somehow to hook the ball wide.

United rammed the point home immediately when Romelu Lukaku, who had hit the post with a header a couple of minutes earlier, flicked on a long ball from David de Gea, and Martial ran on to it, drumming his left foot shot into the turf and past the wrong-footed Hugo Lloris.

United players react after they come close to scoring past Hugo Lloris during the cagey affair in the pouring rain

Ben Davies clears the danger as Lloris fumbles Henrikh Mkhitaryan's shot at the Stretford End on Saturday

United striker Lukaku attempts an acrobatic volley at goal as the hosts ramp up the pressure early on in the second period

Belgian striker Lukaku failed to influence the match much as the two sides played out a tense top flight affair

That was enough for United. It was always going to be that type of game. Mourinho observed, quite rightly, that his players had contested every ball as if it were ‘the most important ball of their career’. The match was cagey and often uninspiring. It was going to come down to one piece of quality in attack and United were the team able to provide it.

This was a big win for Mourinho and his side. We can talk all we want about Spurs missing Kane but it must be remembered that United are also without one of their most influential players, Paul Pogba. When he returns, their swagger may return with him. And so results like this are priceless as they try to keep up with the ferocious pace set by Manchester City.

Mourinho had condemned his players for their attitude at Huddersfield last weekend but there was no mistaking their hunger in the opening exchanges against Spurs. They were first to everything. They showed more attacking intent in the opening five minutes than they had in the entire game at Anfield.

But even though they exerted some early pressure on their opponents, United could not translate it into clear chances. Their only hint of an opening came after Lloris had failed to clear the ball properly and the Spurs defence had to clear hurriedly from Marcus Rashford as he tried to set up Lukaku.

Once Spurs had negated that brief spell of United dominance, they began to look like the more assured side. They were more confident on the ball and more able to put passing moves together that asked more and more questions of the United defence.

Mike Phelan, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick watch the game from the stands on Saturday

Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho walk towards the tunnel after the half-time whistle was blown at Old Trafford

Jan Vertonghen holds Nemanja Matic's shirt as the Belgian defender looks to clear the danger in the Tottenham area

United goalkeeper David de Gea saves Eric Dier's effort at goal during the closing stages of the opening period

United and Tottenham players try to get in the way as tempers flare between Alli and Ashley Young at Old Trafford

Alli and Young come face-to-face as the tempo rises during the top flight clash in Manchester on the weekend

The first real alarm for United came midway through the first half when De Gea advanced to the edge of his six yard box to collect a harmless cross from Ben Davies. De Gea caught the ball but then collided with Phil Jones and spilled it at the feet of Moussa Sissoko but the Spurs midfielder could only lift his shot high over the bar.

The game burst into life now. Ashley Young and Alli became involved in a heated exchange of views that developed into a nose-to-nose confrontation before they were pulled apart by teammates and lectured by the referee. Alli sidefooted a shot too close to De Gea and the United keeper plucked a mishit shot from Eric Dier out of the air.

Spurs were the better team up to the interval but it was hardly a feast of football. They looked exactly like a team missing its best attacker and Alli, who has the potential to be their most influential player, once more struggled to impose himself on a game that was crying out for a moment of inspiration.

It finally came ten minutes after half time when Henrikh Mkhitaryan wriggled cleverly away from his marker and drilled a low shot at the Spurs goal. Lloris should have held it comfortably but the rain was falling in sheets by now and it squirmed from his grasp. Lukaku was waiting to prod it in but Davies intervened with a superb clearance.

Antonio Valencia and Son Heung-Min battle with each other for the ball during the early stages on Saturday afternoon

Marcus Rashford fires a stinging long range free-kick at goal that Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris does well to parry away

The hosts enjoyed the early spell of pressure during Saturday's lunchtime kick-off at Old Trafford

Less than a minute later, United went desperately close again. Once more, Mkhitaryan was the catalyst, sprinting on to a through ball and fizzing it across goal from the byline. Lukaku was there again but he could not apply the finishing touch and Spurs cleared the danger.

United were playing more forcefully now and Antonio Valencia hit a blistering rising drive just over the bar from 25 yards. But then Pochettino reacted by bringing on Fernando Llorente for Heung-min Son and the dynamic of the game changed again.

There were other substitutions, too, but the introduction of Llorente gave Spurs a focal point they had been lacking and they began to force openings of their own. United’s warning came when the ball was worked to Eriksen in space on the edge of the area but he hit his shot high over the bar.

Then, after 77 minutes, Eriksen created the chance of Alli, who had timed his run beautifully but fluffed his chance. Spurs paid dearly for that. With nine minutes left, De Gea launched a long ball forward, Lukaku rose majestically to flick it on and Martial, who had come on for Rashford, proved that he was the most important substitute of all by driving his left foot shot into the ground and past the wrong-footed Lloris. 

Rashford is beaten to the ball by Lloris as the France goalkeeper comes out of his goal quickly to clear the danger

United youngster Rashford runs at goal as fellow England international Dier attempts to tackle him on the edge of the box

United and Tottenham players observe a minute's silence for Remembrance Day ahead of the Premier League encounter