Finally, finally. Manchester United have held onto a lead and won a Premier League game at Old Trafford. It feels good.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s brilliant goal saw the Reds take the lead in the first half and for a moment, it looked set to be deja vu for United once again, with Paul Pogba hitting the woodwork with a free-kick in the second half, just as Ander Herrera did last weekend against Everton.
From that point, you thought that United might concede the lead again and drop more crucial points, but the defence held firm and saw the result through against what was a limp Tottenham side who barely created anything throughout the 90 minutes.
Here are some quickfire takeaways:
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – We’re finally getting to see the best of the Armenian and his first goal at Old Trafford was an excellent one, drilled into the roof of the net after being played through on goal. Once again, Mkhi was by far and away the best player on the pitch. Shame that he’s now out for two weeks at least after Danny Rose’s challenge on him with only 10 minutes or so remaining.
Ander Herrera – Of course, Mkhitaryan’s goal was set up by one of United’s players of the season. Herrera’s pressing allowed him to nick the ball from Christian Eriksen and he played a simple yet brilliant ball through for the Armenian to finish. His aggression was evident time and time again, but marry that with his vision and passion for the shirt and you have yourselves a midfield general. That is what Herrera is to this United midfield at the moment.
Jones and Rojo – If you thought for a second that 2016 would end with Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo being United’s first-choice second pairing, I’d call you a liar. But that’s what happening at the moment and it is fully on merit. Both men were exceptional again and when you don’t notice them on the pitch, you know that they’re playing well. Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly will surely have a fight on their hands to get their places back.
Matteo Darmian – However, if there is one weak link in United’s defence, it is surely Darmian. How he warrants getting picked game after game out of his natural position baffles me. Tottenham specifically brought on Moussa Sissoko to target the Italian and it worked to an extent, with Rojo having to double his work rate to deal with the threat of Sissoko. At some point, José Mourinho has to realise that this will cost United and there are certainly better options on the bench.
Fellaini getting booed – Whatever you think of Marouane Fellaini, he certainly did not warrant getting booed, as he did from sections of the Old Trafford crowd at the weekend. It is embarrassing behaviour and there’s nothing to gain from it. Will it make him play better when he comes on? No. Does it help the team? No. Will it help Fellaini’s long-term morale? No. Give it a rest and support the team.
Michael Carrick – We all know that Carrick simply cannot play twice a week anymore, but when he does play, he is a crucial component of this burgeoning United side. Tasked with dealing with the roaming threats of Eriksen and Dele Alli and shielding the defence, he did superbly again. He may be 35 and his legs may not be what they once were, but he’s still key.
No Europa hangover – For a side that travelled all the way to Ukraine for a Europa League clash on Thursday, United looked remarkably fresh. Maybe they ceded a whole lot of possession to Spurs, but they certainly had more chances and dangerous ones at that which led to the three points, making Spurs look like the ones that had travelled all the way to Eastern Europe in midweek despite playing at Wembley on Wednesday.
Turning point? – United certainly needed this. Mourinho needed this. The fans needed this. After weeks and weeks of conceding leads late on, the Reds gritted, hung on and ground out a result. Mourinho showed that his tried and trusted gameplan was not broken and for all that’s been said in the media about United this season, we’ve played some great football for the first time in several seasons. The tide is slowly turning and this could be the watershed moment where everything started to turn into motion.
