Man Utd 2-3 Tottenham – Tottenham triumph for the first time since 1989 in edgy thriller
Tottenham won their first away fixture of the Premier League last night at the unlikely venue of Old Trafford.
The Lilywhite’s came out 3-2 winners at the Stadium of Dreams owing to goals from Jan Vertonghen, Gareth Bale and a first Spurs goal for Clint Dempsey.
It is a somewhat ironic statement from a man who has enjoyed more than his fair share of extra time when it suited his team, leading to the coining of the phrase “Fergie time”.“They gave four minutes, it’s an insult to the game, an absolute insult… It didn’t give the team a proper chance to win the football match.”
But Spurs utilised the 90 minutes well against a team they have struggled to beat – home or away – in recent history.
Vertonghen opened the scoring only a few minutes in, with a swerving run unlocking the United defence and a shot finding the back of the net via a Jonny Evans deflection.
Bale then doubled the lead with a similarly slaloming dribble, finished off with a neat cross-goal finish.
Spurs went in at half time 2-0 ahead, but the crux of the game was just about to unfold.
In the 51st minute, Wayne Rooney’s cross found Nani to restore United’s hopes of claiming any points.
A minute later these hopes were dashed as Clint Dempsey put the ball into an open net to re-establish their two-goal lead.
A minute later still, Kagawa turned and finished in the box to make the score 3-2.
United were not finished though, Rooney and Carrick struck the woodwork but it was not enough as Spurs claimed a history victory.
Spurs boss, Villas Boas was in buoyant mood, proclaiming: “At half-time we spoke about making history. We knew we would be under pressure and the team excelled themselves.”
Adam Appleton, Football correspondent
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