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Tottenham miss Kane as Anthony Martial claims big win for Mourinho
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MANCHESTER, England -- Three thoughts on Manchester United 1-0 Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. 1. Tottenham suffer in Kane absence as Martial strikes
Tottenham
suffered in the absence of the injured Harry Kane as Manchester United
edged a tight contest at Old Trafford with Anthony Martial's late strike
for Jose Mourinho's team.
Martial, a second half
replacement for Marcus Rashford, scored his sixth goal in 13 appearances
for United by latching on to a Romelu Lukaku flick-on before scuffing a
left-foot shot beyond Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
The goal secured the victory for United and moved them clear of Spurs in second-place, behind league leaders Manchester City.
But
in a game of fine margins, Tottenham's failure to take any of their
first half chances allowed United to stay in the game long enough for
Martial to claim another goal after being introduced from the bench.
Lukaku,
who had endured a quiet game until heading against the post on 79
minutes, made the goal for Martial by heading on David De Gea's long
clearance.
Tottenham had been the more impressive and
organised team, with Mauricio Pochettino choosing to start with Son
Heung-Min up front ahead of Fernando Llorente in place of hamstring
victim Kane.
But despite the early dominance, Spurs could
not find the finishing touch that Kane has provided this season. And
the rampant nature of last week's 4-1 Wembley win against Liverpool was
replaced by a failure to convert their opportunities against a more
durable United outfit.
But while United claimed the win
which moves them into pole position as City's closest challengers, it
remains to be seen whether they can close the gap on Pep Guardiola's
team and overhaul them for top spot ahead of the first derby of the
season on Dec 10. 2. United still lack spark in midfield
Manchester
United are now beginning to seriously suffer from the injury-enforced
absence of Paul Pogba, with Mourinho's midfield lacking any kind of
spark or invention. It was a problem during the 0-0 draw against
Liverpool at Anfield two weeks ago and a key factor in last week's 2-1
defeat against Huddersfield. Even in the Champions League win against
Benfica in Lisbon, United struggled to carve open the Portuguese outfit
with creativity in midfield. United's problem is rooted in their
midfield options with Pogba sidelined. Michael Carrick, at 36, cannot be
seen as the solution, but the United captain is also injured, while
Marouane Fellaini is anything but a creative midfielder.
So
in their absence, Mourinho has the likes of Nemanja Matic, Ander
Herrera and an out-of-form Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Juan Mata, the closest
thing that United have to a flair player in midfield, was once again
overlooked by Mourinho, with the Spaniard named on the substitutes'
bench.
Tottenham, in contrast, had Harry Winks and
Christian Eriksen in the starting lineup, with Mousa Dembele used from
the bench by Pochettino. Spurs also had Dele Alli willing to make
attacking runs into the penalty area.
But United were
more about destroying that creating and it led to the forwards being
starved of service and opportunity. United lack a "fantasy" player in
midfield -- a David Silva or Philippe Coutinho -- and run out of ideas
too quickly when attempting to break opponents down.
Pogba has now been missing since mid-September and United need him back as quickly as possible.
3. Aurier not yet good enough
Pochettino
sold Kyle Walker to Manchester City during the summer due to his belief
in the ability of Kieran Trippier, but two months into the season, the
England right-back has lost his place to £23m new signing Serge Aurier.
Trippier
can justifiably feel hard done by at missing out to Aurier, however,
with the former Paris Saint-Germain defender once again showing at Old
Trafford that he could become a liability for Spurs.
The
24-year-old fell out of favour at PSG due to off-field incidents as well
as form on the pitch and he has already angered Pochettino this season
with his sending off for two yellow cards against West Ham.
He
may offer pace and adventure down the right, but Aurier takes too many
chances defensively and he can be far too reckless when challenging for
the ball.
In the first half here, Aurier was twice lucky
to avoid a booking for heavy and late challenges on Ashley Young and he
was embarrassed by the United player in the second half after trying to
wrestle him to the ground.
Spurs have unquestionably lost
a top class player in Walker, but Trippier proved last season that he
is a more than adequate replacement.
He is more consistent and reliable than Aurier, but the new boy seems to be getting the nod over him at the moment.
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