Tottenham 2-0 Manchester United: Premier League highlights and recap

Tottenham beat Manchester United 2-0 at Wembley on Wednesday, Jan. 31. Here are all the highlights from the match.

United entered their match against Tottenham at Wembley on Wednesday, Jan. 31, seeking their eighth clean sheet in a row. They lasted all of 11 seconds before Christian Eriksen gave Spurs the lead, finishing emphatically past David de Gea after first Phil Jones, then Chris Smalling, failed to clear the ball.

Jose Mourinho’s side responded well enough, and almost had an equalizer minutes later, but Hugo Lloris came out quickly to smother Jesse Lingard’s attempt. Anthony Martial, playing from the right with the arrival of Alexis Sanchez into the team, was also dangerous, but only fashioned one shot of note, which he hit well over with his left foot.

But while United posed a threat going forward, they were routinely exposed on the break, with the midfield of Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard looking helpless in the face of Tottenham’s front four of Dele Alli, Heung-min Son and, in particular, Harry Kane and Eriksen. But for some sloppy shooting, Kane could easily have extended the lead in the first half.

In the 28th minute, Jones did it for him, turning Kieran Trippier’s cross into his own net after opting to play the ball with his right foot instead of his left. The cross was the culmination of nice move from Spurs, with Alli and Eriksen both involved, but it should have ended in a simple clearance, never a goal.

The second goal ended the match as a contest. Martial and Romelu Lukaku had chances either side of halftime, but both were hit straight at Lloris. Mourinho responded by bringing on Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini for Lingard and Paul Pogba. Fellaini was withdrawn for Ander Herrera eight minutes later, perhaps the best indication of Spurs’ dominance.

Tottenham cruised through the remainder of the contest. They created a few chances — the best fell to Son, who shot from a narrow angle when he probably should have passed to Kane — but they didn’t need to play with the intensity that served them so well in the opening 45 minutes, despite Kane’s numerous speculative attempts to grab his 100th goal for the club.

Highlights

Manchester United stay in second place after Chelsea lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth. Tottenham stay fifth, but pull within two points of the top four. They could leapfrog third-place Liverpool if they beat them at Anfield on Sunday.