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Erik ten Hag’s team impresses in a well-deserved victory as Fred and Bruno Fernandes score.
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Man United defeats Tottenham with a dominating victory thanks to Fred and Fernandes.
Match report and detail as goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes in the second half at Old Trafford secured Manchester United’s dominance over Tottenham.
The victory retains United in fifth place in the Premier League while Spurs remain in third; Due to his early departure from the field, Cristiano Ronaldo has been the topic of conversation after the game.
After failing to score the goal their great control deserved in the first half, United finally scored when Fred’s 20-yard attempt sailed in off Ben Davies in the 47th minute.
With just over 20 minutes left, Bruno Fernandes secured the advantage by curling a beautiful first-time shot past Hugo Lloris from right inside the penalty area.
The victory maintained United’s upward trend under Erik ten Hag after a challenging season debut, with Cristiano Ronaldo restricted to a spectator role from the bench. They continue to occupy the fifth spot in the Premier League but are currently only one point behind Chelsea in fourth place.
Tottenham is still in third place, but they wasted an opportunity to pass Manchester City and move to within one point of Arsenal.
Following the game, Ten Hag praised his player’s effort, he said:
“I am pleased with the team, think it was the best team performance this season.
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“You have seen today we are developing. You see how we want to play, we get better on the pitch every time. Spurs are a magnificent team so far this season, I said to the lads in the dressing room it was enjoyable to watch you.
“It was a squad performance. What we have seen today, we have 11 players who defend and 11 who attack. I am pleased with that. I will not say that I am totally satisfied. That has to be the standard at Manchester United.”
Ronaldo leaving the bench and heading toward the tunnel before the end of regulation was the only drawback for United, which Ten Hag indicated he will “deal with” on Thursday.
United could have made the win even more emphatic but Rashford was again denied by Lloris when he perhaps should have scored.
The most shots by a team in a Premier League game this season were taken by Ten Hag’s team, who had 28 in the match.
It was also the most a team managed by Antonio Conte has faced in a top-flight game, in his 318th league encounter across Serie A and the Premier League.
“We have to be honest, United deserved to win,” Conte said. “They started the game very well. In our side, we did not start the game. It was really difficult because we made a lot of simple mistakes.
“The table is good, but every time we play a high-level game, we struggle. I want to be honest — against Chelsea we struggle, we lost against Arsenal and Manchester United we lost.
“In this type of game, I think that you need to arrive and not make big mistakes, with great concentration, and great focus. You need to be ready to fight a war, or you die against your opponent. The level is very high, we are struggling.”