Tottenham Shocks Manchester United 3-2 by Jeff Graceffo

Tottenham defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford for the first time since 1989 when the legendary Gary Lineker scored the game winning goal. It is without a doubt the Premiership's game of the year. Tottenham dominated the opening 45 minutes as defender Jan Vertonghen opened the scoring in the 3rd minute. It was a daring run that set the tone for the remainder of the game. Gareth Bale launched a Spurs counter attack and blew past Rio Ferdinand before burying the ball in the far corner to give the Spurs a 2-0 lead.  United appeared shellshocked.  The remainder of the half saw Gareth Bale, Moussa Dembele, and Sandro dominate the midfield.

At the break, Sir Alex Ferguson brought in Wayne Rooney to replace Ryan Giggs and the dimension changed immediately.  United had a greater urge to push forward as Rooney attacked with vigor.  In the 51st, Rooney's cross ended up in the back of the net after a Nani deflection. Although the result appeared to be in question, Tottenham scored in the next minute after a rebound off of a Gareth Bale went right to Clint Dempsey who buried it.  Dempsey's first goal in a Spurs jersey was the game winner. That's a pretty good way to begin a new era.

To cap off an exciting few minutes, Shinji Kagawa brought United to within one.  For the remainder of the game Tottenham shrank into a defensive formation and let United come at them. They hit the post several times, but were fortunate to hang on as United couldn't put another one past Brad Friedel.


Thoughts:
- Great win for Tottenham. Should be a huge confidence booster. It's the type of game that should make a team believe they're going to win every game.
- Although the AVB era got off to a slow start, the team is beginning to find the right chemistry after the purchases of Dembele and Dempsey
- Daniel Levy's looking like a brighter guy
- Gareth Bale is a monster.  The guy can play anywhere on the field for any team in the world.
- Moussa Dembele was a great acquisition.  They removed the Modric headache for a young, hungry guy.
- Brad Friedel is still top class even at age 40
- Tottenham must not ever sink back into a defensive position when having the lead like they did.
- Manchester United needs an overhaul
- They're way too reliant on one player; Rooney


By Jeff Graceffo