Manchester United turned yet another deficit into a win, as they came from a goal down to beat Tottenham Hotspur, 3-1. Elsewhere, Arsenal beat bottom-placed club Sheffield United with ease, while West Ham United got the better of Leicester City in an exciting encounter.
Former Manchester United boss, Jose Mourinho, welcomed his old side to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a crucial Premier League clash. Both teams are vying to finish in a UEFA Champions League qualification spot this season, with Manchester City clear ahead in the title race. United were second going into the match, while Spurs sat sixth on the table.
Much of the first half passed by with the two teams exchanging possession. However, controversy struck in the 36th minute, as Manchester United had a goal ruled out for a possible foul on Son Heung-min. The Spurs star went down on the ground following contact with Scott McTominay. While the replays showed minimal contact, the VAR still decided to rule Edinson Cavani’s goal out, which came moments after the deemed foul.
To rub salt on the Red Devils’ wounds, Son then scored the opening goal of the match. The winger was picked out at the far post by Lucas Moura and tapped the ball past Dean Henderson in goal with no defender in sight.
Nevertheless, as they have done so often this season, Manchester United staged a second-half comeback. Fred scored first, five minutes after the restart, as he was on hand to finish off a rebound. The Brazilian found himself in the right place after Hugo Lloris had saved a shot from Cavani.
Cavani scored the goal, which overturned United’s deficit. The Uruguayan dived to head the ball past Lloris after a cross by Mason Greenwood. United scored their third of the night in stoppage time with Greenwood himself getting on the scoresheet. The youngster beat the Spurs goalkeeper at his near post with a powerful shot.
The win meant that United moved to within 11 points of City with a game in hand. Spurs, meanwhile, slipped to the seventh position in the table due to Liverpool winning their match against Aston Villa. Mourinho’s team could fall further down the table should Everton win either of their two games in hand.
Elsewhere, Arsenal registered an easy 3-0 win over 20th placed Sheffield United. Mikel Arteta’s men took the lead three minutes past the half-hour mark through Alexandre Lacazette. The French striker finished off a lovely team move to make it 1-0 to the Gunners.
Despite dominating the match in large phases, Arsenal had to wait until the 71st minute to double their lead. Sheffield United fell victim to their own over-complicated processes, as they gave the ball away while playing out from the back. Nicholas Pepe pounced on the loose pass by John Lundstram but saw his subsequent shot saved by Aaron Ramsdale. However, Gabriel Martinelli was on hand to knock home the rebound.
The Gunners scored another late on through Lacazette to consolidate their position on the table. They are currently ninth, with seven games left to play.
West Ham took another step towards an unprecedented UEFA Champions League qualification. The Hammers beat fellow European hopefuls, Leicester City, by a scoreline of 3-2, with Jesse Lingard once again among the goals. The Manchester United loanee scored twice to help David Moyes’s team to a three-goal lead. Kelechi Iheanacho pulled two back for the Foxes, but it wasn’t enough.
At the other end of the table, Newcastle United recorded a huge win over Burnley. The Magpies trailed 1-0 after Matej Vydra’s goal for Burnley. However, memorable performance from substitute Allan Saint-Maximin, who assisted Jacob Murphy’s equalizer before scoring the winner, helped Steve Bruce’s men to a win.
