Tottenham 0-3 Man Utd: Player ratings, man of the match, heroes & villains as Red Devils issue response

Cristiano Ronaldo scores against Tottenham. Credit: Getty.

Manchester United claimed a confidence-boosting win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday to relieve some of the pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a 39th-minute volley to net his 11th careeer goal against Spurs, the most he has scored against any English side. He then turned provider in the second half, setting up Edinson Cavani for his first goal of the season.

Substitute Marcus Rashford then made it three late on to issue a perfect response to drubbing against Liverpool last week.

The win puts the Red Devils up to fifth, three points adrift of Manchester City, and ends their four-game winless run in the league.

Has Ole bought himself more time with that victory? (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

The heroes

Cristiano Ronaldo: A born-winner, Ronaldo would have been disheartened after that scoreline last week and United’s deficiencies last week were highlighted by Ronaldo having just one shot against Liverpool. But performed superbly against Spurs and, when he’s playing well, it seems the whole team is.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: The first of the rumoured three games he may have left in charge of United, the Red Devils boss delivered in the capital. A change was needed after last week’s performance and he altered the shape, going to a 3-5-2. His side looked strong on the counter-attack and that’s where they punished Spurs, with two coming on the break. Next up it’s Atalanta and then the Manchster derby for the Norwegian.
Harry Maguire: Before the match, the defender was subject to criticism by Roy Keane, who mocked an apology he made on social media. But the captain delivered on the pitch. He was one of United’s best performers and came out on top in both aerial and ground duels.

It was captain’s performance from Maguire. Credit: Getty.

The villains

Ben Davies: Not the greatest performance from the Welshman today who was making his first Premier League start of the season. At fault for Ronaldo’s goal, he later played Rashford onside for a third.
Nuno Espirito Santo: It was an unforgiving evening for the Spurs boss. Loudly booed by his own fans for his in-game changes, it has to be said he was let down by his team, who didn’t put in a dire showing. David de Gea was rarely challenged and the Portuguese manager is under serious pressure in North London.
Hugo Lloris: Let down by his defence who gave United plenty of opportunities, Lloris also had a bad day at the office. He registered just one save in the match, which was a strike from distance from Fred. His positioning for all three strikes could have been better, given Ronaldo and Rashford were both on the keeper’s far side for their strikes.

Player ratings

Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris 5, Emerson 6, Romero 6, Dier 6, Davies 5, Hojbjerg 5, Skipp 5, (Ndombele, 66;6), Lucas 7, (Bergwijn, 54;6), Lo Celso 6, (Alli, 71;6), Son 6, Kane 6.

Man Utd (3-4-1-2): De Gea 6, Maguire 7, Varane 7, Lindelof 6, Wan-Bissaka 6, Fred 7, McTominay 7, Shaw 6, Fernandes 7 (Matic, 76;6), Ronaldo 9 (Rashford, 70;7), Cavani 7 (Lingard;6).

What’s next?

It’s back to the Champions League for United who, with a short turnaround, travel to Italy to face Atalanta