Son was the spur, Pogba the protagonist
Our thoughts on a famous victory, also featuring Dean Henderson, the long shadow of the 6-1, and a goal from an unbelievable source
FIVE ASIDES Premier League: Tottenham 1, United 3
You can say one thing about this United team: they do do things by halves. For the umpteenth time in 2020/21, they were mediocre for most of the first half and majestic for most of the second. For the eighth time, they came from behind in an away game. If they’d turned up from the start, they might have won 6-1. As it was, this was still payback time – for the 6-1, and for the decision by Chris Kavanagh, guided by the VAR, to rule out what seemed, to ex-players of all denominations, a perfectly legitimate goal from Edinson Cavani. At first the injustice led United to lose their temper, but then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who had been seething himself, said the right thing: “Calm down.” They came out and showed that revenge is a dish best eaten after half-time. Son Heung-Min’s amateur dramatics, and his coolly professional goal, became the Spur for a spectacular improvement. Yet again, United’s overall performance left fans performing a tricky manoeuvre: punching the air at the same time as scratching their heads.
Paul Pogba was robbed. The Man of the Match award, decided by Gary Neville, went to Cavani, who was back to his Southampton best, scoring two superb goals, one of them allowed, and setting up another – but still not quite as central as Pogba. He was everywhere, getting his head to corners at both ends, putting in a stint on either wing, nipping into the middle to supply knock-downs, dancing around the D with Bruno Fernandes, playing slick little rondos with Fred and Luke Shaw, finding the gaps in some heavy traffic and making fabulous decisions in the final third, all the way from the delayed pass for Cavani’s disallowed delicacy to shrugging off two defenders and teeing up Mason Greenwood’s clinical clincher. Pogba’s rating on WhoScored – not definitive, but usually interesting – was 8.4 out of 10, which is stratospheric. His average position was right next to Cavani’s. He just loves playing against Jose Mourinho.
“Fred went 73 shots without finding the net, as if he was trying to turn football into a round of golf”
United’s regeneration brought with it some pangs of regret. It made you wonder whether they could have come back in the 6-1 game, which had only reached 2-1 when Anthony Martial was sent off – had it remained 11 against 11, would Spurs have wilted then too? It also made you think about the repercussions of the 6-1, which cost United far more than three points. Look at what happened in their next six meetings with the Big Six: 0-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0. United were cowed, playing as if they were terrified of being trounced, and raising the question of whether there’s a collective noun for stalemates. They only snapped out of that mindset at the Etihad on March 7, a full five months after the 6-1. If they’d won even half of those games, we might still have a title race.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, what is imitating your imitator imitating you? Last weekend, at 1-1 against Brighton, Greenwood scored a Cavani goal with a predator’s diving header. Here, also at 1-1, Cavani scored one of those goals himself. Meanwhile, at the other end, something similar was going on. Dean Henderson was making David de Gea saves, with his feet, from Son and Harry Kane. He was also being Dean Henderson – grabbing crosses out of the air, bossing his own box, racing out to pull off precise interceptions. While not flawless, he’s clearly the real deal. De Gea has been magnificent, but it’s time to let him go.
Fred scored! If ever a moment deserved an exclamation mark, it was this. He hadn’t produced a goal in the league since the draw with Wolves at Old Trafford, under Mourinho, way back in September 2018. I was there that day and thought “this guy can shoot”. Ever since, Fred had been doing his best to make that opinion look stupid. He went 73 shots without finding the net, as if he was trying to turn football into a round of golf. He became that guy on your side that you never want the chance to go to. He even tried shots from 30 yards, some so hopeless that Solskjaer just laughed. Finally, at Spurs, following in behind a sharp strike from Cavani, Fred found himself four yards out, in a position from where not even he could miss. His mate Fernandes was so gobsmacked that he celebrated by pushing Fred over. It was a surprise the VAR didn’t send Chris Kavanagh to the monitor to look at that again.