Tottenham Secures Three Massive Points

Tottenham needed a win in order to keep pace with Leicester City, and after scoring three goals past Manchester United, Spurs are still in the Premier League title race.

Five minutes and 45 seconds, that’s all it took for Tottenham to quickly down Manchester United in the second half after a goalless draw looked to be upon the White Hart Lane faithful once again in back-to-back seasons.

There were times that Spurs could have scored earlier on in the game, but at this point with how the match ended, the final result is all that matters for Mauricio Pochettino and his team. A 3-0 win to keep pace with Leicester City who won 2-0 earlier in the day prior to Spurs’ match.

Just before kick-off there were a few interesting pre-game notes involving Mauricio Pochettino’s starting eleven that he would select for this match.

The biggest news of course was the return of Jan Vertonghen playing alognside his compatriot in Toby Alderweireld. Also in the lineup was Érik Lamela following a calf injury he picked up during the international break.

Vertonghen has been sidelined since January 23rd against Crystal Palace missing nine Premier League games. Lamela, meanwhile, has only missed the Liverpool game on April 2nd. He last played in Spurs’ win over Bournemouth on March 20th.

However, what’s somewhat eye-opening is the exact lineup that Pochettino chose.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – APRIL 10: Tottenham Hotspur players warm up prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at White Hart Lane on April 10, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

From top to bottom, Mauricio Pochettino hasn’t selected this exact starting eleven since January 16 — due to Vertonghen being injured seven days later (against Crystal Palace) and being out for more than two months.

Now, not that any of this stuff really matters, but it’s interesting to note that today’s lineup is generally the strongest possible starting eleven that Mauricio Pochettino could have out there on the pitch.

And when Tottenham are on their game like they showed today in the second half with everyone healthy (Clinton N’Jie should be close to returning), this is what they’re able to produce — multiple goals and a big win.

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To get goals from Dele Alli (8th this season), Toby Alderweireld (4th this season) and Érik Lamela (10th this season), it once again shows that Harry Kane isn’t the only goalscorer that Tottenham boasts.

It would have been great if Kane was able to get on the score sheet as well, but truth be told, so long as Spurs can score goals and not concede any and Tottenham wins, that’s all that matters.

More than anything, having a more spread out attack than just relying solely on Harry Kane will bode well for Tottenham moving forward.

Not for just the end of this season, but for next season as well.

Last season it was Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Nacer Chadli who were scoring all the goals last season, all reaching double-digit goals. This term, it’s the same three players but now you add Alli, Lamela and Alderweireld as well and that’s six players to watch out for during every single game.

Other contributions have come from Son Heung-Min, Mousa Dembélé, Eric Dier, Kyle Walker, Ryan Mason, Kieran Trippier, Tom Carroll and Danny Rose.

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The last time that Tottenham beat Manchester United at home, that was nearly 15 years ago on May 19, 2001. That’s a stretch of 14 games with Man United winning eight games and drawing six.

Also, Mauricio Pochettino had never beaten the Red Devils in seven career Premier League matches as a manager (Southampton and Tottenham), while also not being able to see his Spurs side score a goal in three meetings dating back to last season.

All of these little tidbits came crashing down with a strong Tottenham team showing up when it mattered most — in the second half and with three massive points on the line. This was a crucial win for Tottenham to catch up with Leicester even if they still remain seven points adrift of first place.