Man Utd lost 0-2 to Tottenham in Premier League
Man Utd lost 0-2 away at Tottenham in the 2nd round of the 2023-24 Premier League season. VAR caused controversy when it denied Man Utd a penalty after the ball touched the hand of a Tottenham player inside the box.
Manchester United lost 0-2 away at Tottenham despite Ten Hag’s troops playing not severely, in fact in the first half, the away side played much better than the home side. The stats after the match showed that “The Red Devils” had 22 shots, slightly more than Tottenham’s 16. Unfortunately, this was an unlucky match for Man Utd, they were denied by luck and even VAR.
Man Utd confidently played as the away side at Tottenham’s ground, Ten Hag’s squad created a balanced play after the opening whistle. In attack, Man United were much sharper than the home side. In the 13th minute, Man Utd players broke through on the right flank, Rashford entered the box and took a shot from a tight angle, and keeper Vicario stretched out his hand to block the ball successfully.
10 minutes later, Rashford escaped down to receive a cross from his teammate, unfortunately, his header went over the bar from just about 6m away. In the 26th minute, Garnacho took a shot from outside the box, and Romero handled the ball inside the penalty area.
The slow-motion replay showed the Tottenham defender stretching out his hand widely while rushing in to block the opponent’s shot, the ball deflected off Romero’s arm and changed direction. Clearly, Romero’s hand prevented Garnacho’s chance to score. However, referee Oliver after consulting VAR only gave Manchester United a corner kick to the surprise and protests of the away players.
In the 33rd minute, Fernandes beat the offside trap to receive a cross from Shaw, at a distance of only about 5m, facing the goal, the Portuguese midfielder headed the ball wide. Fernandes covered his face in regret after missing this gilt-edged chance.
For a long period of time, Tottenham had a few counterattacks but were not really impressive yet. The home side only played well in the last few minutes of the first half. In the 40th minute, Porro unleashed a powerful shot from outside the box, the ball rattled the crossbar and bounced out. After that Tottenham still regained possession and the post saved Man Utd after the ball deflected off Shaw’s leg and bounced up.
Going into the second half, Tottenham still maintained the spirit of play like at the end of the first half. Creating good attacking pressure, the home side opened the scoring in the 49th minute. Kulusevski broke through on the right and passed the ball which deflected off Martinez’s body to the left, Sarr rushed in and scored on the rebound. Man Utd’s defense was loose on this conceded goal.
Manchester United fought back after conceding. In the 52nd minute, Antony missed the chance to equalize for the away side when his shot hit the post and bounced out. 4 minutes later, Casemiro headed the free kick, keeper Vicario dived to parry the ball over the bar. As time went on, Man Utd could not create as much attacking pressure as in the first half, and the away side’s goal-scoring chances became fewer and fewer.
While still not finding an equalizer, Man United conceded the second goal. In the 83rd minute, from what seemed like a harmless shot from the opponent, Martinez allowed the ball to deflect off his leg and go into the net. The second goal sealed Man Utd’s fate.
Lineups (ratings):
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Vicario 7.5; Porro 7 (Royal 88), Romero 7, Van de Ven 7, Udogie 6.5 (Davies 70, 6.5); Sarr 7 (Hojbjerg 76), Bissouma 8; Kulusevski 7.5 (Solomon 88), Maddison 7.5, Son 6; Richarlison 5.5 (Perisc 70, 6).
Man Utd (4-1-4-1): Onana 6.5; Wan-Bissaka 6.5 (Dalot 66, 6), Varane 6, Martinez 5, Shaw 7; Casemiro 7; Antony 6.5 (Eriksen 66, 6), Fernandes 7, Mount 6 (Pellistri 85), Garnacho 6 (Sancho 66, 6); Rashford 6.5 (Martial 85).
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