Classy United rally to down Spurs

London: This mouth-watering tie erupted into life as Tottenham Hotspur went a goal up against Manchester United in under a minute. With just 47 seconds on the clock, the on-fire Jermain Defoe bicycle kicked into the bottom right corner past a rooted Ben Foster after Nemanja Vidic had intercepted Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s chipped pass to Peter Crouch.

United had their first sniff of goal moments later after good work from Ryan Giggs down the left flank saw Darren Fletcher chest the ball past Assou-Ekotto inside the penalty area, only for his half volley to be diverted wide by Carlo Cudicini. The tempo of the match was electric, and Spurs continued their expansive playing style with Crouch attempting a half volley from around twenty five yards which Foster was able to claim cleanly. United were by no means playing a reserved game either, and due to the attack-minded nature of their opponents, they continued to find space inside Tottenham’s half, where Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Giggs looked to unlock the door. On twenty three minutes, Wilson Palacios picked up a booking which had been on the cards since the whistle, after a fierce challenge on Dimitar Berbatov. From the resulting free kick, Ryan Giggs rolled back the years by bending the ball away from the fully-stretched Cudicini, and into the top right corner of the net. Much of the space found by United seemed to stem from Harry Redknapp’s decision to play Robbie Keane down the left, instead of new signing Niko Kranjar, who many had seen as the ideal replacement for the sidelined Luka Modric. United came close to taking the lead, when on 27 minutes Berbatov hit a half volley which Cudicini did well to tip over. Berbatov went close again to giving his side the lead minutes later. After Cudicini had saved well from Rooney, the ball found its way to the feet of the Bulgarian, but his effort was blocked on the line by Sebastien Bassong. Spurs were not done attacking either, and after Crouch had seen a header fly wide after he’d out-jumped the returning Rio Ferdinand, Defoe found space on the edge of the box but his curling shot was grasped well by Foster. With 40 minutes on the clock, United finally went in a front. A desperate strike from Scholes ricocheted off the Tottenham backline to the feet of Anderson, whose low first time driven shot its way past Cudicini into the back of the net. Anderson’s first Premier League goal was enough to give United a 2-1 lead at the interval. With Palacios removed at half time for Jermaine Jenas, it was the substitutes fed ball to Keane which almost set the match alight in the opening minutes of the second half, with the Spurs captain now positioned behind the partnership of Crouch and Defoe. The general play was more composed than the frantic first half, with Spurs trying to pack the midfield in an attempt to the stifle the passes which had found the feet of United’s danger men in the opening forty five minutes. It was not long before the match sprung into life once again, as Spurs went close to equalising twice within ten minutes of the restart. The first saw Foster produce a fine save from a long range Jenas effort, before Crouch headed against the cross bar from the resulting corner kick. Approaching the hour mark, Scholes received the ninth red card of his career after receiving his second yellow during a robust coming-together with Tom Huddlestone, although replays showed it was a harsh decision. With his side now down to ten men, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson removed the impressive Berbatov for Michael Carrick, in attempt to maintain possession despite their player deficit. Cudicini continued his impressive first half performance into the second half, diving low at his near post to shut out Rooney once more on 66 minutes, after the striker’s wizardry on the left had seen him carve his way into the Tottenham penalty area. On 71 minutes, Keane was replaced for the arrival of new signing Kranjar as Redknapp made his final substitution in an attempt to claim a foothold in the match, after replacing Vedran Corluka with Alan Hutton moments before. Spurs had penalty appeals turned down with fifteen minutes remaining, when Crouch appeared to have been tugged to the ground, only for the referee to award the free kick to United to the dismay of the home faithful. Crouch was awarded a free kick moments later after a strong challenge from Vidic, who was certainly more fortunate than Scholes and was lucky not to receive his second yellow. Rooney finally won his battle with Cudicini when he increased United’s lead to 3-1 on 78 minutes, after cutting into the Spurs penalty area from the right to finish coolly past the Italian into the bottom corner. Tottenham were unable to break United down during the final twenty minutes, and without Modric seemed to lack that special something in the middle of the park. United will feel encouraged by the character and resolve showed today, but more importantly by the three points which they fully deserved. Goal.com