Tottenham Hotspur solidified their top- four credentials with a dominant 2-0 win over Manchester United in front of an English Premier League record crowd at Wembley on Wednesday.
Christian Eriksen gave the hosts the lead after 11 seconds, the second fastest goal in Premier League history.
Manchester United’s woeful defending was exposed again for Tottenham’s second, with Phil Jones turning the ball into his own net after 27 minutes.
The win lifted Tottenham two points behind third-placed Liverpool and Chelsea in fourth as second-placed Manchester United dropped 15 points behind leaders Manchester City.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, speaking after the match, praised his players for putting up a fantastic performance.
He added that the result had put his team in a good position for a top four finish.
“It’s a fantastic dressing room after a fantastic performance. The performance was great and I congratulate the players because they deserve all the credit.
“The first goal was a fantastic goal. Christian Eriksen believed that it would arrive in this situation. We tell the young players to always anticipate.
“I am so pleased we are in the race for the top four.
“There’s a lot of games to play and that is why we need to stay focused.
“The early goal for us was good so that we can go on and dominate the game. That goal gave us more confidence and belief.
“Dele Alli was very good today, but all the team was great. The quality of performance was fantastic.
“It’ll be tough against Liverpool now because they are one of the best teams — but it’s about taking it one game at a time.”
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, on his part, said the goals scored against his side were ridiculous.
“It’s a performance that starts with a ridiculous goal. That goal after a few seconds has a big influence in the game because Tottenham can play the way they like to play.
“In the end, we played against a very good team. Both goals were ridiculous goals.
“The first goal is an accumulation of mistakes in spite of the fact that everything happened so fast. My players have watched the Tottenham kick-off many, many times.
“It was a really, really bad goal. After the first goal the team had a good reaction — we were there and tried to create.
“The second goal mentally kills the team. A team to win matches needs to score goals and also defend well — on this occasion we were very bad.’’(Reuters/NAN)
