El Sackico? Nuno now in firing line after Man Utd ease pressure on Solskjaer
Manchester United eased the pressure on their manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with victory (John Walton/PA)
F THIS WAS BILLED as El Sackico, it is Nuno Espirito Santo who should be worried about his job, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saved his skin with an easy win at shot-shy Spurs.
Solskjaer met up with Sir Alex Ferguson this week and clearly summoned up the great man's traditional war cry in this part of North London - “Lads, it's Tottenham.”
This was a throwback to the great days of Fergie's reign, when Manchester United only had to turn up at Tottenham to go home with all three points.
After last week's home humiliation by Liverpool led to fevered speculation that Solskjaer's job was on the line, this was the perfect riposte, assisted no end by a dismal display from Tottenham, who failed to register a single effort on target.
United, by contrast, were clinical in their finishing, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring for the first time in six games to put them ahead before half time with a perfectly-executed volley from a Bruno Fernandes cross.
Fernandes then robbed the hapless Oliver Skipp to set up Ronaldo for a pass that left Edinson Cavani a clear run at goal in the 64th minute, which he ended with a run round Hugo Lloris and precise finish.
And substitutes Marcus Rashford and Nemanja Matic combined in the final stages to round off a good day at the office for United, with the latter sending his young English colleague through for a simple finish.
Ronaldo also had a goal chalked off for offside, Cavani put two headers wide, and Lloris made a superb save to deny Fred, who looked like Roy Keane in comparison to the lightweight Spurs midfield.
Up front, Tottenham were even worse, with Harry Kane woefully out of form and Heung Min Son huffing and puffing to little effect. David De Gea spent most of last week picking the ball out of his net, but he could have taken this weekend off, so little did Spurs fire his way. A rejigged back three also meant a welcome return to form for United captain Harry Maguire, who barely put a foot wrong.
The result means United move back up the table to fifth, just three points behind Manchester City, whom they play next weekend.
After this win, they will go into the game with a lot more confidence – and with Ole still at the wheel.
Lloris 6; Royal 6, Romero 6, Dier 6, Davies 4; Skipp 5 (Ndombele 66), Hojbjerg 7; Lucas Moura 7 (Bergwijn 54), Lo Celso 6 (Dele Alli 72), Son 6; Kane 5
De Gea 7; Lindelof 7, Varane 7, Maguire 8; Wan-Bissaka 8, McTominay 7, Fernandes 8 (Matic 76), Fred 8, Shaw 7; Ronaldo 7 (Rashford 71), Cavani 7 (Lingard 82).
Stuart Atwell 7/10
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