Tottenham’s battle at home to Manchester United on Saturday was one of important proportions for both football clubs. On most occasions if the two teams were in-form, a loss for either side may have been considered a blip. However, this match was instead a fight between two out-of-form and a more intricate battle of managerial pressure that is on both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Nuno Esprito Santo.
The game began lively, and on the favoured side of Spurs. Son Heung-Min had a shot from a Lucas Moura assist, but failed to get the footing right and the ball flew over David De Gea and the bar. Cavani had a poor headed effort, and Fred had an unlikely shot that needed a Hugo Lloris save to prevent it from sneaking in at the left post.
It was Cristiano Ronaldo who scored the first goal of the game, 5 minutes before half time. A perfect pass from Bruno Fernandes over the defenders and onto the right foot of Ronaldo was too much for Lloris. The type of goal that you’d probably expect from Ronaldo.
De Gea however made a mistake in the second half, gifting the ball to Lucas Moura who again sent it to Son. However, Son’s shot was poor from outside the box and went wide.
A fumble from Ollie Skipp which fell into the feet of Fernandes, and an intricate bit of build up play from Ronaldo was then turned into the second goal of the evening in the 64th minute. Scored by Edison Cavani, with little both the Spurs goalkeeper and defenders could or did in fact do to prevent the opportunity.
The game was topped off by a late goal from Marcus Rashford, who came on to replace Ronaldo. Another fumble from the Spurs midfield, specifically from Son was gifted to Matic, who put a simple ball through to Rashford. Rashford walked on the tightrope of being offside, however his quick judgement against a lethargic Spurs defence rewarded his efforts.
The game ended 3-0 to the reds. An immense pressure that had been sitting on the manager Solskjaer had somewhat been lifted. Credit can go to the tactical changes that Solskjaer made, who seemingly emulated the preferred 3-5-2 formation that his rumoured replacement Antonio Conte likes to use.
The impact of the game was far deeper in Tottenham however. After coming out scathed against a mean West Ham in the last matchday, it was the Spurs board decision to get rid of Nuno. He was sacked on Monday, two days after the disappointing home loss. Nuno had only recently taken over the reins at the club, and his unfortunate shortened time at the club was no-doubt blighted by him being their 5th choice manager that Spurs tried to employ in the summer.
What remains left after the match is the looming figure of the previously mentioned Conte, who is currently in London in advanced talks to take charge of Tottenham. As United were also rumoured with his appointment, this match seems quite potent on the future endeavours of the Italian manager.
Image Tottenham Hotspur Stadium South Stand by Bluejam, via Wikimedia.
