Sir Alex Ferguson can rarely have been happier to do Manchester City a favour. In denting Tottenham Hotspur’s Champions League ambitions, Manchester United’s manager saw his side not only clamber back above Chelsea at the top of the Premier League but pile immense psychological pressure on Carlo Ancelotti’s team.
United’s ascendancy may be strictly temporary – the Londoners could reclaim top spot tomorrow – but, despite the surprise absence of Wayne Rooney, they made it plain the title is firmly back within their sights.
Harry Redknapp, the subject of lavish pre-match praise from Ferguson, had bravely configured his Spurs in a 4-4-2 system and, for a while, they threatened to at least hold their hosts to a draw but, after a slow burn beginning, United were ultimately too strong for them.
The first half proved deceptively anti-climatic. Its slightly underwhelming quality could arguably be attributed to the huge amount of effort both teams, and Tottenham especially, were expending in tracking back, closing each other down and winning tackles.
The downside of such often manic industry was that, with one or two notable exceptions – step forward Luka Modric – players seemed too mentally tired to conjure defence-bisecting final passes. If imagination was lacking so, too, was the ability to keep the ball for long.
Tottenham’s Tom Huddlestone was a serial culprit and the resultant pressure on his team-mates to defend from the front frequently saw Jermain Defoe forced deep in midfield – and even winning challenges – rather than menacing Jonny Evans and company in the penalty area.
It speaks volumes that one of the half’s biggest cheers was reserved for Owen Hargreaves, back on the bench after being sidelined for 580 days with severe knee trouble, when the United midfielder indulged in a touchline warm-up routine.
Shortly afterwards, on the half hour mark, Old Trafford witnessed the afternoon’s first shot – a weak Roman Pavlyuchenko effort directed straight at Edwin Van der Sar.
United’s best early chance arrived when Dimitar Berbatov, playing against his old club, did well to control Rafael’s slightly overhit pass along the edge of the area before striking a shot just over Heurelho Gomes’s bar. Otherwise, the best Ferguson’s team could muster was an Antonio Valencia strike dispatched at the perfect height for Gomes to gather. The most significant thing about it was probably that, for once, Valencia had not been out-paced by Gareth Bale, Tottenham’s speedy left-back.
United’s manager had devoted part of his programme notes to an ode to Modric – a perhaps not so subtle message to the Croatian that, should he tire of London, a new home at Old Trafford could very well await.
It was not Modric’s fault that his team-mates did not always read his clever passes and many of his good ideas went to waste. Ferguson, though, will surely have noted the moment when he sold Paul Scholes a dummy. Modric might just make an ideal long-term replacement for Scholes.
The second half began with Patrice Evra being sick on the pitch but the Frenchman, later replaced by John O’Shea, recovered sufficiently to sling in an elusive cross that prefaced Berbatov very nearly scoring with a header.
If United has spent much of the first period shadow-boxing, the brooding presence of Ferguson in the technical area in his summer suit reminded them that they desperately needed to start landing some telling blows.
Ferguson ventured a rare smile when Benoît Assou-Ekotto’s trip on Patrice Evra following Berbatov’s clever pass won his side a penalty. It grew considerably broader when, despite Gomes’s diving the right way, Ryan Giggs squeezed his kick into the corner.
The equaliser originated from another dead ball and featured Ledley King out-jumping Michael Carrick – newly on as a substitute – to connect with Bales’s corner and power the ball past Van der Sar.
Federico Macheda, United’s young Italian striker, has not made the progress expected of him this season but, very shortly after replacing Rafael, Macheda created his side’s second goal. Accelerating on to his astute short pass, Nani advanced before lifting the ball over Gomes.
As Spurs drove forward in search of a way back into the game, United made the most of the defensive gaps they left behind. Accordingly when a frantically backpedalling Wilson Palacios shoved Nani over, a second penalty was awarded.
Giggs stepped forward once more and, although Gomes again guessed the direction of his kick, its execution proved far too good for him.
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