How many games does Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have to save his job? Quite a few, one would suspect, after Manchester United totally demolished Tottenham 3-0 in north London on Saturday night.
A team that at times against Liverpool last weekend looked like a bunch of competition winners certainly hit the jackpot at Tottenham Stadium.
Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford justified Solskjaer’s decision to “put a few more experienced players in there” following the harrowing scenes at Old Trafford last time out.
Indeed, this was a smart, considered and clinical display to earned United three deserved points. It couldn’t have been more dissimilar to how United conducted themselves against Liverpool.
And it’s likely to have saved Solskjaer for now.
Next up for the boss in the Premier League? The Manchester derby, with United now just three points behind City after their defeat to Crystal Palace.
Here, i looks at five notable performances from the triumph in the capital…
Edinson Cavani 8/10
Solskjaer spoke about the need to bring more experience back into the team following the humiliation at Old Trafford last weekend – and this was the perfect stage for Cavani to thrive.
The Uruguayan has endured a stuttering start to the season at United thanks in large part to Ronaldo’s arrival confusing the make-up of Solskjaer’s forward line. Saturday was the first time the pair had started together and they soon got into their groove.
Shifting to three centre-backs meant the boss could afford to go with two veteran forwards up front – and it worked. Once the game opened up it was Ronald who fed Cavani in for the second goal. Indeed, Cavani was tireless throughout and could have scored earlier in the contest. His presence was exactly what United needed.
Cristiano Ronaldo 8/10
Class is permanent and no matter how many column inches and web pages are written about United’s issues with and without Ronaldo, there’s no denying that the Portuguese is their most valuable player.
Ronaldo was having a fairly steady afternoon when his Portuguese team-mate Bruno Fernandes picked a lock when lifting a ball over a deep Spurs defence to the forward. The ball, lofting over Ronaldo’s left shoulder, fell perfectly for the veteran to slam home on the volley and fire the visitors into the lead.
It was a goal of sheer quality matched only by Ronaldo’s assist for Cavani’s second-half strike – a flick between the legs to free himself from danger and a composed through-ball to the Uruguayan. Ronaldo came off with 20 minutes remaining, his job more than done. How many more times is he going to save Solskjaer?
Bruno Fernandes 7/10
An assist and a crucial role played in the second United goal, yet Fernandes had one of his quieter nights in the capital. The usually reliant playmaker lost the ball on a number of occasions and ended up turning backwards as much as he wanted to push on.
That is perhaps not Fernandes’ fault. United are at their best when they counter attack and exploit space, which means Fernandes often needs to be patient and trust that the opportunities will come his way.
In the end they did. He forced the opening goal with a remarkable chip over for Ronaldo. He was obliged to create the second thanks to Spurs’ ramshackle organisation.
Harry Maguire 6/10
Harry Kane barely had a sniff all afternoon but that wasn’t due to Maguire’s performance. The sheer number of defensive bodies around the striker meant he did his characteristic drop into midfield in order to reclaim some possession, and then sought to feed in Son Heung-min.
Son was unlucky not to score after getting past Maguire, who was saved by Wan-Bissaka’s late lunge. The England man, booked early into playing in a new-look three across the defence, seemed at times as befuddled as he was against Mohamed Salah and co. last weekend.
It wasn’t a great performance but it was enough to suggest Solskjaer could find some long-term success in a three-man back line. Yet it was the presence of Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof that earned United a clean sheet here.
Fred 7/10
It’s almost impossible to know what to make of Fred on a game-by-game basis. Against Leeds earlier this season he was exceptional, and he performed reasonably well on Saturday despite picking up a yellow card. Solskjaer is adamant the Fred-McTominay partnership will work in midfield even if the majority of United fans seem to feel differently.
At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Fred was his usual inconsistent self but did test Hugo Lloris from range in the first half and had no problem handling Spurs’ midfield. Having Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka higher up certainly helped plug the gaps usually left exposed by either the Brazilian or his Scottish team-mate.
But Fred is still not the long-term solution to United’s midfield problems and a sharper Spurs side could have exploited his misgivings here.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3GClDjp
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