After undoubtedly the longest week of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure as United manager, it was finally time for his side to return to action on Saturday evening in attempt to rebound from the heavy defeat against Liverpool the Sunday prior. They faced a struggling Spurs outfit, a point ahead in the league, but having already suffered four defeats and failing to win any matches by more than a single goal margin. It was United's first away outing since their extensive league unbeaten run came to an end against Leicester.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer certainly drew on experience in his bid for a response to last weekend's extreme mishaps, whilst altering his starting system too. Raphael Varane was recalled following his injury sustained during the last international break, introduced alongside Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire instead of replacing one of the pair. The width was to be offered by the wingbacks - Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw - with no outright wingers in the side. Scott McTominay and Fred's position in the side was maintained despite more defensive assurance behind the midfield, with Bruno Fernandes occasionally tasked with shifting alongside at least one of the duo. For the first time, Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo partnered one another to led the line (and to great intrigue).
From very early on, United's discipline was noticeably improved. In most of the opening exchanges, the visitors were content to remain structurally stable and sit deep to ensure no early openings for Spurs. The press failure against Liverpool had clearly been learned from, with less frantic work off the ball and far more co-ordination when pressure was applied. Although United often sat and proved happy to allow Spurs to dominate the ball, both sides were equally as determined from the off.
When attacking, the visiting wingbacks successfully found and exploited space left by the opposing defence. Wan-Bissaka looked especially bright, displaying a noticeable development when attacking. Similarly, Shaw begun to find more promising areas and his involvement grew in subsequence.
Centrally, United looked assured too - McTominay proved a key figurehead within the engine room. Solskjaer's side were extremely strong in their buildup, managing transitions extremely well with some very tidy phases of possession. There were occasional careless moments from Fred, begging to question as to why Van de Beek wasn't given an opportunity in Pogba's absence. Nonetheless, there was sufficient stability within the middle of the park.
Cavani had some early half-chances for United, with a clear aim to spread the ball wide so crosses could be delivered into the front two (as Solskjaer detailed would be crucial speaking pre-match). The early signs were definitely those of promise, with the deployed system operating with great efficiency. Spurs were made to look overly limited against Solskjaer's approach.
Even though Nuno Espirito Santo's side looked restricted against United's setup, his side were the first to engineer a clear opening. Around the halfway mark of the opening period, Heung-Min Son managed to hit over on the stretch from extremely close range following a ball lofted over to him by Lucas Moura; the initial control was good from the South Korean, but the subsequent attempt didn't follow suit.
United did lose their offensive grip on proceedings for a phase, but remained disciplined and held their shape very well for the most part. One exception came from a Spurs corner, where the home side momentarily took the lead. Eric Dier beat a number of United men in the air, with Cristian Romero lurking at the far post to tap in. To United's relief, the Argentine was ruled offside.
From there, the away side did regain an attacking foothold. There were some encouraging moves from United, but some hesitancy in the final third meant nothing materialised. Hugo Lloris was first really tested as Fred let fly from range, with the goalkeeper forced into a diving save.
Both sides were managing to gain some joy, with United once almost cost for playing a rather high line. Son found himself through on goal, only for the flag to be raised against his side once more. Before the ruling of offside, however, Wan-Bissaka showed exceptional recovery pace in order to make a sensational last ditch sliding challenge to deny the South Korean. Really, it was the only near-lapse in defensive solidity. Aside from a few moments, Spurs really offered no threat.
United played with more poise than their opposition on the whole, and that paid off as the half drew to a close. The reds were patient, with the ball ultimately handed to Fernandes space. The ball was dinked towards Ronaldo at the far post, with a fantastic sequence of movement to evade Ben Davies and strike low on the volley into Lloris' far corner. The angle looked almost impossible, with Ronaldo again proving why he is one of the greatest goalscorers to ever grace the sport.
Having been caught out for the goal, Davies had a big chance to level affairs just shy of the break. The Welshman wriggled free from a corner, but headed over the crossbar. United led at the break.
Spurs had another chance as the second half commenced, this time rather a gift. A stray ball from David de Gea saw an opportunity emerge for the hosts, but Son's ultimate effort was hit wide as a shot on target continued to evade Spurs. Otherwise, it was United who started the half the brightest on the back of their late opener.
McTominay's influence on the match continued to grow, with his surge from midfield culminating in a through ball to set Ronaldo free to charge towards Lloris. The eventual finish from the edge of the box was an absolute thunderbolt into the top corner, but the Portuguese was adjudged to have made his run fractionally early. Brace denied.
After Fred was dispossessed, another decent Spurs opportunity followed. The United defence was approached with threat, but Giovani Lo Celso's final pass was slightly wayward and Fernandes was able to track and intervene on the slide. It was elite determination from the United midfielder to regain possession for his side.
The game slowed for a period, but United phenomenally delivered a second goal towards the midway point of the half. Fernandes initially showed endeavour to dispossess Oliver Skipp, before halting and playing the ball to Ronaldo. Rolling back the years, the latter of the Portuguese pair produced a trademark chop to break free into space. The pass which followed was incisive to meet Cavani's calculated run, with the Uruguayan subtly chipping over Lloris as the goalkeeper went to ground.
The strikers became the first pair aged 34 or above to combine for a United goal in the league since Scholes and Giggs in 2010. When they have both been on the pitch together, Cavani and Ronaldo have scored a combined four goals in only 138 minutes. The former marked his starting return in style.
It wasn't moments that were winning United the game, it was systematic brilliance. The defence offered a stable base, with control coming from the midfield and outright quality at the head of the pitch.
Around the 70 minute mark, the first alteration was made - Marcus Rashford was introduced, with Ronaldo withdrawn as United led.
Following the change, Spurs squandered another sizeable opportunity. Cavani quite literally gave the ball to Harry Kane to break for his side, but United got back quickly in numbers to defend. The only real chances for Spurs came from errors by United, which was testament to the quality of Solskjaer's defensive setup - the home side were severely restricted.
Fernandes was strangely replaced by Matic with near enough 15 minutes remaining, with Lingard entering the fray for Cavani soon after having seemingly struggled with cramp. The aim was clearly security from Solskjaer in the latter stages. As intended, Spurs were restricted further as United proved happy to simply remain compact behind the ball.
Though minimal men were committed forward, United managed to seal the deal through two substitutes combining. There was a phase of intricate passing, before space was found for Matic to play Rashford into space. One day shy of his 24th birthday, Rashford slotted past Lloris with excellent composure to cap off a fantastic day for Solskjaer's side.
From start to finish, the approach was perfect and was executed to a great extent. Character was undoubtedly a key word; in recent weeks the players have looked somewhat lost, but they came out rallying and were fighting for their manager and own dignity yesterday. Reports have suggested a split in the dressing room, but there was a certain sense of unity within the performance. There won’t be one player who doubted the approach deployed by Solskjaer, and that’s definite progress. Now, it just has to be prolonged. It was a marked improvement from last weekend.
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