United beat Tottenham 1-0 at White Hart Lane on Saturday. (Reports: BBC, Soccernet, ManUtd.com.)
It wasn’t the most memorable of matches but it was the kind of unspectacular, workmanlike performance United need to come up with if they’re to keep up with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea.
Scholes was left out after suffering a groin injury and was replaced by Smith but otherwise Ferguson stuck with the same eleven that played against Liverpool.
Tottenham were very defensive in the first-half despite fielding three strikers. It appeared Santini was content to stifle United and earn a point. (He did the same thing against Chelsea much to Mourinho’s irritation.)
Unsurprisingly, United dominated the play but they didn’t force Robinson into making too many saves in the first-half. The Red Devils had to wait until the 40th minute before making the breakthrough. Tottenham defender Edman pulled down O’Shea in the box and van Nistelrooy converted the resulting penalty. (As usual, he blasted it to the keeper’s right and while Robinson guessed correctly, he couldn’t get a hand to the ball.)
Silvestre and Bellion both came close to doubling United’s lead but the match ended 1-0. The result meant United moved up to fifth place in the Premiership table, seven points behind leaders Arsenal.
It appears Rooney will make his much-anticipated debut in the match against Fenerbahce at Old Trafford. He’s probably going to replace Smith and play behind van Nistelrooy. I cannot wait to see how Rooney gels with the equally talented Ronaldo.
Brazil once boasted of its “Ro-Ro” combination of Romario and Ronaldo (ver. galactico) but I have a feeling it’s going to be eclipsed by United’s own Roo-Ro-Rooy trio.
