Man Utd vs Tottenham LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction after Bruno Fernandes stunner
Fred and Fernandes scored in a dominant performance from the Red Devils
Manchester United produced arguably its most complete performance under Erik ten Hag by beating Tottenham 2-0 to move within a point of the Premier League’s top four on Wednesday.
Second-half goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes ensured victory in a game that saw Hugo Lloris pull off a string of fine saves to keep the score down.
United now sits one point behind fourth-place Chelsea and four off Tottenham, who have played a game more.
While victory prompted a rapturous response from the crowd — Cristiano Ronaldo threatened to steal the headlines when he walked off to the changing room before the final whistle blew.
The Portugal star was an unused substitute as United impressed without him.
Ten Hag is increasingly making his presence felt at Old Trafford, with standout wins against Liverpool and Premier League leader Arsenal already this season.
And Spurs became the latest big name to fall in front of United’s home fans, who were repeatedly out of their seats in response to some of the slickest football they’ve seen from their team under the new Dutch manager.
If not for Lloris, United would have held a sizeable lead by halftime, with the goalkeeper coming up with a host of impressive saves.
But he was finally beaten by Fred and Fernandes after the break after United’s dominance paid off.
Lloris was almost guilty of gifting United the lead after just six minutes when fumbling Antony’s long-range effort.
But he recovered to produce saves to deny Marcus Rashford, Fernandes and Luke Shaw before the break, while Antony saw another shot clip the outside of the post.
Harry Kane’s effort from a tight angle just before halftime was as close as Tottenham came to taking the lead.
Ten Hag has seen his team fail to make the most of chances in front of goal in recent weeks — most recently the goalless draw with Newcastle on Sunday.
But United was ahead at the start of the second half — even if it relied on a touch of fortune when Fred’s 47th-minute shot from outside the area was diverted past Lloris by the outstretched leg of Ben Davies.
As impressive as United’s performance was, Tottenham provided little in return.
Antonio Conte appeared helpless to coax his team into life as his players were repeatedly forced into errors and struggled to build attacks.
On one of the rare occasions Tottenham did look threatening, United punished the visitors with a rapid break to make it 2-0 after 69 minutes.
Kane had seen a close-range shot blocked by De Gea — and from there United pounced, quickly moving the ball into the Spurs penalty area.
When Fred’s effort was blocked, Fernandes was quick to send a first-time shot curling past Lloris.
Fernandes and Rashford both saw further chances blocked by Lloris as United went in search for more.
Manchester United vs Tottenham
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s late Premier League kick off where Manchester United take on Tottenham at Old Trafford with the action getting underway at 8.15pm.
Erik ten Hag’s men come into the match on the back of a goalless draw with Newcastle and could do with a win to propel them closer to the top four whilst taking vital points away from one of their rivals. United are unbeaten in four matches since losing the Manchester derby 6-3 at the start of October but their performances have been far from convincing with scrappy wins against Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League and a tricky 2-1 victory over Everton preceding the Newcastle draw.
Meanwhile, Spurs are currently third in the table but can move ahead of Manchester City – who don’t have a midweek game – and close the gap on league leaders Arsenal if they win at Old Trafford. Antonio Conte’s men are also unbeaten in four games and defeated Everton 2-0 last time out thanks to goals from Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Tonight’s fixture will be a test to see how these two sides compare against one another. Both are competitors to finish in the top four and both are going through rebuilding phases under new(ish) managers. On paper Spurs seem to be further along in their development but will that translate into another historic victory at the Theatre of Dreams?
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