Manchester United had an emphatic victory over Tottenham hotspur breaking their winning-draught at Old Trafford. While it is surely a step closer to their target of top four and the team finally looking to get in the groove, Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s injury could well end that before their winning streak starts. Here are 3 talking points from the game.
Is 3-man midfield the answer to United’s Problem?
Finding the right combination in the midfield has been a huge problem for Mourinho. Most of the times, deploying two defensive midfielders deep didn’t work for him, and we are yet to find out the reason why Mourinho stuck to that formation. United have found way more freedom with one player as the anchorman and two operating as creative playmakers.
We saw it hitting the right strings today yet again. The last time Mourinho did that was away against Swansea, and United won that 3-1.
Of course, Carrick did quite a disciplined job as the deep lying midfielder but so can Morgan Schneiderlin if he is placed in that position. Paul Pogba and Herrera looked much more of a threat operating on the counter, which was missing when they were more burdened with defensive duties.
He came, He scored, He Left
The Armenian International had failed to find his form eventually losing the manager’s confidence. It was the international break that gave him some playing time this season. He looked to get back to form in some short cameos for the club before he eventually started against a favourable opponent in Zorya. His flair and flamboyance were visible when he nutmegged a Zorya defender and finished it with aplomb.
But, Zorya were not an opponent to prove one’s mettle and he needed to do that on a bigger stage. Playing Tottenham in front of the Old Trafford crowd looked the perfect platform and he did it once again. Only this time it was a cracker of a goal. He took the ball from Herrera and glided through the defence trying to close in before firing it into the top net.
His goal, however, was not the only contribution. With his agility and composure in the ball, he looked simply unstoppable.
Danny Rose was often found trailing him that actually led to his challenge in the later stage of the game. Rose is among the speedy side-backs in the league and even he found it difficult to keep him in check. We hope his tenure on the sidelines is short this time.
Related Reading: The Best & The Worst Manchester United Players Rated From Their Win Over Tottenham Hotspur
The impact of Moussa Sissoko
Pochettino’s 30 million pound buy from Newcastle United was seen as hugely tactical by many, but the midfielder failed to make any sort of impact whether in the domestic league or in their Champions League campaign. He was hence benched and got little to no playing time. And with Eric Lamela and Son taking advantage of opportunities in the attacking positions, his position looked increasingly in danger.
One of his rare sparkling performance came in Spurs’ emphatic win over Manchester City in the early stages of October where he was a driving force in the team, and we saw exactly that today against United.
He outmuscled almost everyone on the right flank in his 30-minute cameo and Darmian was left in pieces whenever he came against him. One would imagine how he could have impacted the game if he started. His deployment on the wing was criticised by many where looked ineffective at times but Pochettino seems to know exactly where he can hurt the most.
