Jose Mourinho's Anthony Martial masterstroke hands Spurs that familiar sinking feeling at Old Trafford

Mauricio Pochettino accused Pep Guardiola of
showing a lack of respect when he dubbed Tottenham
'Harry Kane FC' – but the England striker is the one
man he can't do without.
This top-of-the-table clash was always going to be
decided by small margins.
But with the game in the balance, and the points
tantalisingly there for the taking, it was Jose
Mourinho who had what it took to snatch them away
thanks to Anthony Martial's late winning strike.
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There had been a smattering of jeers when Mourinho
decided to replace Marcus Rashford with Martial for
the last 20 minutes.
In the end, it proved to be a masterstroke.
Mourinho put his finger to his lips at the final whistle
– telling those United fans who had questioned his
wisdom that silence can sometimes be golden.
Yes, the winning goal may have been Wimbledon-lite
– but it was also an illustration of what you can do
when you've got a £60million forward to summon
from the bench.
Martial's showed power, pace and precision, making
the most of Romelu Lukaku's flick and a moment's
hesitation between Jan Vertonghen and Eric Dier to
beat Hugo Lloris with a left-foot finish that brought an
Old Trafford full-house down.
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Pochettino is a talented manager, but he hasn't yet
mastered the art of turning water into wine.
One day, he might get the chance to taste the fruits
on offer when you manage United.
But for now he'll be praying that the hamstring strain
that forced him to leave Kane back home in London
heals quickly.
With Kane missing, Pochettino had little option but to
ask Heung-Son Min to fill the Tottenham talisman's
scoring boots.
The South Korean spent an hour running into the
roadblocks put up by Mourinho's three-man defence.
And when he was then replaced by Fernando Llorente,
the Spaniard displayed all the mobility of a traffic
cone.
Spurs' only chance came just before Martial's winner.
Christian Eriksen's exquisite clip forward for once
found United wanting, but Dele Alli could only guide
his volley wide.
It was the kind of opportunity that Kane dreams about
in his sweetest of slumbers.
It was also a sign that United are once again going up
through the gears.
Momentum is a wonderful thing – and the truth is
that the Reds have stalled since Mourinho applied the
brakes at Anfield a fortnight ago.
A draw against Liverpool is usually acceptable, but
not when you follow it up by losing at Huddersfield.
Mourinho was his usual pragmatic self, despite Kane's
absence, employing a thee-man defence and locking
the backdoor even tighter with midfield lynchpins
Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera.
But at least the formation gave him the freedom to
link Lukaku with first Rashford and then Martial.
But Spurs were able to extract United's early sting
and it was a contest of equals for the first hour.
There were gasps of disbelief when Mourinho opted to
replace Rashford with Martial, with the teenager
looking the most likely player on the pitch to produce
a breakthrough.
But when Alli failed to capitalise on United's only
lapse in concentration, it was the home side that
cranked up the tempo.
Lukaku's downward header looked textbook until it
skidded off the turf and struck the base of Hugo
Lloris' left-hand post.
Then David De Gea launched a free-kick forward from
inside his own penalty area and Lukaku's leap above
Toby Alderweireld enabled him to flick on.
Martial had read the script perfectly and when Dier
failed to track the Frenchman's dart, he ghosted in
behind Vertonghen to score.
When Pochettino looked to his bench for options
there were none.
Sir Alex Ferguson once famously sent his United team
out to face Spurs with the simple reminder “lads, it's
Tottenham” when the Premier League part of the
Treble was on the line in 1999.
They might not be the soft touch they once were, but
Pochettino will have travelled back to the capital
knowing what he meant.

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