Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Manchester United: How Solskjaer's tactics helped United win the game

Modified Jul 25, 2019 18:25 GMT

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United - 2019 International Champions Cup

Manchester United beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the International Champions Cup 2019, with goals from Angel Gomes and Anthony Martial. For the Lilywhites, Lucas Moura scored the only goal.

The first half of the match was played with a lot of intensity and there was a bit of an edge about the game. Spurs were keeping hold of the ball but they weren't creating enough chances, while United were doing well on the counter.

Martial hit the post early on before going on to score after being put through on goal by Andreas Pereira. It was a great finish from a very tight angle.

Spurs didn't really create enough in the first half and were a goal behind at the start of the second.

The second half of the match saw both the teams make a lot of changes. Tottenham came back into the game thanks to Lucas Moura, whose deflected shot found the back of the net.

But United went in front again after some brilliant one-touch play between Gomes and Juan Mata before the Englishman slotted it home with a brilliant finish.

It was the fourth win for United in their pre-season tour. Here, we look at how Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tactics helped United win the game:

#3 Relentless pressing

United's pressing this pre-season has been absolutely wonderful. They haven't let any opposition rest easily and dictate play. Also, the pressing has been quite intelligent as United's attackers aren't running at the center-backs of every team; instead, they are waiting for the ball to come into midfield and then building pressure from there.

Early on in the game, Daniel James' hounding of Moussa Sissoko caused the Frenchman to make a mistake and Martial was put through on goal. The young Welshman was also fouled many times after he picked up the ball in dangerous positions.

All in all, Solskjaer seems to have made this United team much fitter.

Keeping a high line of defense in the first half

In the first half Spurs didn't have real pace in their attack, so it was wise of United to keep a considerably high line of defense. Both Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo played well in the first half as they kept Spurs' attackers relatively quiet.

David de Gea had very little to do in the first half, and some of Smalling's headers were particularly impressive. In the second half though, Heung-min Son and Lucas Moura started running in behind the United defense and that's when they dropped off a little. But overall, it was a great defensive show from United.

The quick one-touch passing in the final third

Both the goals that United scored were due to the quick passing moves in and around that 30-yard box. It was Pereira's cute little ball around the corner for Martial which gave United the lead, while in the second half, it was the quick give-and-go move between Mata and Gomes.

United have a couple of intelligent players in their team who have the technical ability to pick out a pass, but who plays the opening game against Chelsea in the Premier League is still a question. So far, Gomes has been the one who has impressed the most in that number 10 role.

Edited by Musab Abid