Anthony Martial’s 81st-minute goal gave Manchester United a 1-0 victory over Premier League title rivals Tottenham on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Old Trafford.
Here’s a look at the best stats from the encounter.
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70%-77% – SLOPPY PASSING
Neither side were altogether convincing on the ball. Plenty of passes went astray as both sets of players struggled to find much fluidity to they play. In fact, both teams were unable to manage even an 80% pass accuracy in the game, although some of that was down to the conditions it must be said.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
8 – LUKAKU BREAKS SPURS DROUGHT
Romelu Lukaku has finally ended his winless run against Tottenham. Prior to this encounter, he hadn’t registered a victory in eight appearances against the north London outfit, with four draws and four defeats.
Romelu Lukaku (R)
10 – UNITED’S LATE SHOW
A certain Alex Ferguson will be pleased to see United dig deep and produce late goals again. Martial’s strike on Saturday was the 10th goal the Red Devils have scored in the final 10 minutes of games in the Premier League this season, accounting for 43% of their tally.
Anthony Martial
6 – MOURINHO DOMINATES POCHETTINO
Despite his sacking at Chelsea in the season before last, Mourinho retains his reputation as one of the finest coaches in the world and Mauricio Pochettino is widely regarded as one of the best up and coming managers. However, the Portuguese has truly dominated his counterpart in head to heads, winning all six of their encounters when Mourinho has played at home, scoring 16 goals and conceding just once. Overall, the United boss has won all 10 of their meetings.
Pochettino and Mourinho
4 – MARTIAL THE SUPER SUB
Despite plenty calling for Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford to start for United together, Mourinho’s utlilisation of the duo has been on the money with the Frenchman regularly making an impact off the bench. He’s scored four times as a substitute, more than any other player in the Premier League this season.
Anthony Martia comes on for Marcus Rashford
5 – DEFENSIVE SOLIDARITY
The 2007/08 season for United was largely remembered for the Champions League triumph while a phenomenal Cristiano Ronaldo led them to the Premier League title. However, a feature of that title win was their defence, anchored by a Rio Ferdinand-Nemanja Vidic centre-back partnership. That defence kept five clean sheets in each of their first five home matches, a feat now matched by United in this campaign.
37 – OLD TRAFFORD AURA RESTORED
During Ferguson’s reign, Old Trafford was a fortress, with plenty of teams beaten before they stepped out of the tunnel. That was all undone in David Moyes’ stint while Louis van Gaal started laying the bricks again, Mourinho has ensured the venue has had his aura restored. United are now 37 games unbeaten at home, matching their run in 2011.
Romelu Lukaku