Sunday, 20 January 2013

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Manchester United 1




In terms of the championship this was two points dropped as United conceded a deep injury time equaliser.

The team United put out was without any natural wingers with Cleverley and Welbeck carrying out the duties. Phil Jones was the midfield enforcer with Carrick and Kagawa pulling the strings in the middle.

RVP was again up front on his own with Rooney on the bench. The defence had a bit more steel to it with Rio and Vidic in the middle and Rafael and Evra on the flanks to help stop the Lennon and Bale show.

The game only got the go ahead an hour before kick off due to the persistent snow but thankfully it went ahead. The game started off slowly as both teams tested each other out, Tottenham had a few early when De gea made a great save from Defoe.

Halfway through the first half United took the lead when a ball fed into Kagawa was quickly turned to Carrick. The ex-Tottenham midfielder then found Welbeck on the left and he cut inside and drifted across the box. Welbeck then passed to Cleverley and with a pinpoint cross found an unmarked RVP who put in a bullet header for his 22nd goal of the season.

Tottenham again knocked at the door and the only notable chance was a shot deflected by Rio which wrong footed De Gea but somehow he got his foot to it to clear the trouble.

The second half saw united break on the counter and pretty much the defence were under pressure but were coping admirably. De Gea again made a great save from Clint Dempsey as he broke through and he deflected the shot wide.

Defoe also had a half chance but Rio put in a great block to keep the one goal lead. United made a couple of changes with Rooney and Valencia coming on and Rooney had a penalty shout turned down when he went sown under a clumsy challenge but the linesmen didn't give it.

As injury time approached United looked comfortable and deep into injury time a cross came in where Lennon beat Rafael to the ball and he squared the ball to Dempsey who stroked the ball into the net for the late equaliser.

United lead at the top now down to 5 points but in the cold light of the day, an away point at a top 4 team isn't a disaster.

The main talking points for United was the penalty not been given and the lack of form for Tony Valencia. Cleverley was subbed who looked to have Bale quiet and was tidy in possession and helped the defence in stemming the Tottenham attacks. Valencia seemed to me to upset the last 15 minutes and United lost a bit of shape and thus surrendered possession to Tottenham.

Man of the match was De Gea who made vital saves and although his punch on the goal wasnt the best, it could be argued we could have been 3 or 4 goals down at that stage.

Next up is the FA Cup with Fulham visiting Old Trafford.    

No comments:

Post a Comment