LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison’s early goal was enough for his side to end a barren home run in the Premier League by beating fellow strugglers Manchester United 1-0 in an entertaining clash on Sunday (Feb 16).
Maddison, back in the starting lineup after injury, tapped in a rebound from close range after 13 minutes to settle a contest in which both sides showed their frailties.
Tottenham’s first home league win for 105 days eased the pressure on their Australian manager Ange Postecoglou with his team moving above United into 12th place with 30 points.
United manager Ruben Amorim’s tough start to life at Old Trafford continues though and the Portuguese has now lost eight of the 14 Premier League matches since he took charge.
His side dropped to 15th with 29 points as they became the first United outfit to suffer defeats in a league double against Spurs since the 1989-90 season.
It was another underwhelming display by the visitors although they did have their chances with Alejandro Garnacho wasting a golden opportunity in the first half.
“I am not worried. I understand our fans, what the media think about it. I hate to lose, that feeling is the worst,” Amorim said. “I am confident in my work. The place in the table is my worry, I am not worried about me.”
Tottenham’s injury list is finally shrinking and Postecoglou welcomed back first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and playmaker Maddison into his starting team while Destiny Udogie, Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson were all on the bench.
In contrast, United’s woes worsened this week with the news that the versatile Amad Diallo, one of their few bright sparks this season, is likely to be out for the rest of the campaign.
United’s starting lineup was complemented by a bench resembling a youth team with nine of them aged 19 or under.
PRE-MATCH PROTEST
The Spurs fans staged a pre-match protest against Chairman Daniel Levy’s running of the club and while one victory will not cure the side’s troubles, it was a step in the right direction after they tumbled out of both domestic cups last week.
“It was important we won today,” Postecoglou said. “We’ve had it pretty tough for the past two and a half months.
“We feel, and I certainly feel, there’s a massive opportunity in the back half of the year.”
There are still 13 Premier League games left this season, while Spurs and United are Europa League favourites.
United had the first big chance in the game on Sunday with Rasmus Hojlund forcing a sharp save from Vicario who then reacted well to keep out Garnacho’s follow-up.
Tottenham took the lead when Son Heung-min’s volleyed cross fell to Lucas Bergvall whose shot was clawed away by Andre Onana into the path of Maddison who converted from close range.
Garnacho should have equalised soon after but lifted his shot well over the bar with the goal at his mercy.
Spurs’ new signing Mathys Tel struggled up front and should have done better from a Djed Spence cross.
The fragile nature of Tottenham’s lead induced some nerves in the home ranks and United began to grow in belief.
Garnacho forced two fine saves from Vicario who looked confident in his first game for nearly three months while Joshua Zirkzee wastefully glanced a header wide of the target.
Spurs held their lead though as they enjoyed consecutive Premier League clean sheets for the first time in 16 months.
