Ronaldo, Cavani, and Rashford goals down Spurs in a 3-0 win for Manchester United
Manchester United downed Tottenham Hotspurs 3-0 courtesy of goals from frontmen Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, and Marcus Rashford to go fifth in the 2021-22 Premier League.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer relished the opportunity to produce an exquisite performance and result to win back the support of the fans before his team hosts city rivals Manchester City next Sunday at Old Trafford.
After the 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool, Solskjaer named the oldest starting XI under his charger with Raphael Varane and Cavani replacing Mason Greenwood and Rashford in the starting XI. Nuno Espirito Santo also ringed a couple of changes to the starting XI that suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of West Ham United with Sergio Reguilon and Tanguy Ndombele replaced by Ben Davies and Giovani Lo Celso.
After a drab 20-minute phase which saw both sides start the match conservatively, Heung-min Son was played behind the United defense but the forward blazed the ball over the crossbar. A few seconds later, a lobbed through ball from Luke Shaw found Bruno Fernandes who in turn found Cavani but the Uruguyuan forward headed wide.
In the 28th minute, Cristian Romero put the ball in the back of the net via a corner routine but was flagged offside. United tried to put pressure on Spurs with a long-range effort from Fred in the 33rd minute troubling Hugo Lloris in goal.
In the 39th minute, a lobbed through ball from Fernandes found Ronaldo, and the former Real Madrid forward volleyed the ball in the back of the net from a tight angle showcasing brilliant technique.
After the break, Ronaldo had the ball in the back of the net within a space of two minutes courtesy of a blistering strike but he was flagged offside denying him a brace against Spurs.
With the home side struggling to get a shot on target, Fernandes stole the ball in the middle of the park, fed Ronaldo who in turn laid it off to Cavani and the 34-year old striker found the back of the net doubling the away side’s lead on the evening.
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In the 86th minute, two substitutes in Nemanja Matic and Rashford combined as the former’s through ball to the forward saw the Englishman score the third goal of the night and put the result beyond any doubt.
A tactical change to a back 3 (or a back 5, depends on how you look at it) benefitted Manchester United who flew out of the blocks and collected three crucial points on the night. Varane’s inclusion certainly added authority in the flailing defense that conceded 5 goals last week and helped in calming the nerves whilst Cavani’s inclusion saw the United attack burst into raw energy.
Boos rang out at full-time from the home supporters followed by chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” and “We want Nuno Out” putting the former Wolves manager in a precarious position ahead of an easy pre-Christmas schedule.
In other Premier League results of the day, champions Manchester City suffered a shock defeat against Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium whilst Liverpool drew 2-2 against Brighton and Hove Albion. With points dropped elsewhere, Chelsea went 3 points clear at the top with a 3-0 win against Newcastle United courtesy of a Reece James brace.