Spurs and United scoreless at break

Tottenham 0, Manchester United 0 (half-time)

Tottenham goalkeeper Kasey Keller pulled off four superb saves from Ruud van Nistelrooy as he single-handedly held Manchester United at bay in the first-half at White Hart Lane.

Not even the return of David Beckham to the starting line-up was enough to inspire United to seize the lead as they looked to move five points ahead of Arsenal in the title race.

With Poyet testing out Carroll with a long-range drive, Tottenham were growing in confidence as the first-half progressed, even if Robbie Keane was rather isolated up front.

They were still indebted to two superb saves within the space of two minutes from Keller, both from van Nistelrooy, to keep them in the game.

The first came when, with Richards off injured, Ledley King allowed Solskjaer’s pass through his legs to van Nistelrooy only for Keller to claw away the Dutchman’s attempted chip as a goal looked certain.

Keller then tipped van Nistelrooy’s powerful header over the top but, even with Gardner on for Richards, Spurs were still struggling to create any chances of their own.

Still Keller was performing heroics in the Tottenham goal, however, as van Nistelrooy produced an excellent turn from Keane’s pass, only for the Spurs keeper to smother the ball at his feet.