Manchester United emerged victorious from a hard-fought game against Tottenham in the first of this year’s FA Cup semi-finals.
Goals from Alexis Sanchez – who had his best game in a United shirt – and Ander Herrera gave the Red Devils a 2-1 win after Dele Alli had put Spurs ahead early on.
Sanchez was named Man of the Match, while Herrera and midfield colleague Paul Pogba caught the eye and Spurs were left to rue falling short of a trophy yet again.
Here are three talking points from the game.
BIG-GAME HERRERA DOES IT AGAIN
It’s been a strange season for Herrera, who was the club’s Player of the Year last season, but saw the arrival of Nemanja Matic lead to him losing his starting role despite being the incumbent. Then, at times, it seemed like both Marouane Fellaini and youngster Scott McTominay had leapfrogged him in the pecking order, and a midseason injury didn’t help.
However, in recent games he has re-established himself as Jose Mourinho‘s man for the big occasion, earning the start in United’s stirring comeback win over Manchester City earlier this month and then being trusted again on Saturday, as the manager chose to play three midfielders rather than his usual 4-2-3-1.
Mourinho was rewarded with a typical Herrera display. The Spaniard was popping up everywhere, ably helping out his defence both with his diligent tracking back and his usually robust tackling, as well as providing an out ball when the rearguard needed it. It was fitting that Herrera, arriving in the box with another lung-busting run, got the winning goal. Another Roy Keane-esque performance.
Herrera remains United’s premier big-game player.
POGBA COMES FULL CIRCLE
United’s 2-0 loss to Spurs at Wembley in January was the game where Pogba’s season started to unravel. To say he lost his duel with Mousa Dembele that day would be an understatement, and it was on the back of that performance that he temporarily lost his place as a first-choice midfielder for Mourinho.
How fitting then, that at the same venue, against the same team, with much bigger stakes, Pogba produced a performance that should silence the critics, even if only temporarily. He provided the assist for United’s equaliser with a delightful cross for Sanchez (whose header was equally good), and from that moment on, he was the dominant player in the middle of the park.
The Frenchman kept finding pockets of space to operate in, produced excellent passes to set up the rest of his attackers, drove United forward with his running, and defended well. Unlike in January, he refused to allow Dembele to outduel him, or let the Spurs midfield dictate proceedings. Instead, he stamped his authority on the game.
Pogba produced one of his best displays in a United shirt.
DON’T JUDGE SPURS TOO HARSHLY
The running theme with Spurs over the last three years has been that they need a trophy to truly show they’ve arrived as a Premier League force. Putting pressure on eventual title winners and producing a few stunning European displays was thought to be an inadequate return for the hype that this Tottenham side has generated.
Their display against United will deepen the sense that when push comes to shove, Spurs will still always ‘Spurs it’. Despite dominating possession, they created no chances apart from the one Alli scored, with Eric Dier’s deflected long-range strike that hit the post the closest they came to scoring otherwise. It was a performance that will be served up as further evidence that Spurs may never truly reach the level of England’s big clubs.
Yet that assessment would be unfair. This was their second straight FA Cup semi-final, they’re set to qualify for the Champions League for the third year running, and they’re on track to be London’s best team for the first time in 23 years. Trophies aren’t everything.
Tottenham will be disappointed, but this shouldn’t distract from what they’ve achieved.
