Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Andy Reid praised Manchester United’s opening goal after a well-worked corner routine led to the opener.
Manchester United made it four wins from four with a 2-0 Premier League victory over Tottenham Hotspur, thanks to goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes.
Spurs began the match brightly and looked the more dangerous side early on, though the wet conditions made things tricky for both teams. The momentum shifted just before the half-hour mark when Tottenham captain Cristian Romero was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Casemiro.
United capitalised on the advantage by taking the lead through Mbeumo, who finished off a cleverly worked corner.
Casemiro and Amad both went close to adding another before the break, but the score remained 1-0 at half-time. After the restart, Amad and Matheus Cunha each had goals ruled out for offside.
With 15 minutes remaining, both sides made changes, and United eventually doubled their lead. Fernandes calmly converted a precise cross from Diogo Dalot to seal the win and secure another three points for Michael Carrick’s side.
Man Utd’s excellent corner routine
After Tottenham were reduced to ten men thanks to a rash challenge by their captain, Christian Romero, United were always going to pile on the pressure and make the most out of the man advantage.
Just ten minutes after the sending off, they made the most of their advantage when a brilliant corner routine between Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Mbeumo ended with the latter finding himself in plenty of space, where a well-placed shot into the bottom corner was enough to beat Guglielmo Vicario.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live after the goal, former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Andy Reid praised the well-worked routine that resulted in United’s opening goal of the game.
“It’s a brilliant corner, off the training ground, played to the edge of the box, and Mbeumo has about 10 yards of space around the penalty spot and sidefoots it into the net. Really well worked,” Reid said.
Man Utd’s set-piece brilliance
There has certainly been a growing emphasis on set-pieces in recent seasons, with it being reported that there has been a near 50% increase in non-penalty set-piece goals since the 2020/21 campaign, rising from 0.5 per game to 0.8 per game.
Manchester United currently sit behind league leaders Arsenal in terms of set-piece goals, with the North London side scoring from 17 dead-ball situations, while United sit on 15.
While the impact of set-piece coaches in games has certainly become more important, Michael Carrick revealed the unlikely source of United’s set-play brilliance, revealing during a half-time interview that it is, in fact, former teammate Jonny Evans, who can take the credit.
He said, “Yeah, it was Jonny [Evans], he’s had his eye on set plays, and the analyst. Bruno, Kobbie and Bryan put it away, delighted with that.”
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