Jose Mourinho suffered his first loss as Tottenham manager and it came at the hands of his old club back at Old Trafford for the first time since he was fired over a year ago. Marcus Rashford bagged a double to secure an important 2-1 victory for Manchester United over Tottenham on Wednesday that keeps Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's job safe (for now).
The win moves the Red Devils to 21 points and ahead of Spurs by one point in the standings. The home team has won the previous eight meetings.
Below you'll find everything you need to know from Wednesday's result.
Turning point
Dele Alli took the air out of Old Trafford when he scored this beautiful equalizer in the first half in which he flicked the ball back to himself to beat two defenders and whipped up a shot that soared under David de Gea's armpits.
But it was Rashford's brace, his penalty kick goal specifically, that calmed the nerves for the Red Devils and set the tone for the rest of the second half.
Stat of the game
Credit to Rashford for stepping up with a huge performance that potentially saves Solskjaer's job (for now). Rashford seems to have a knack for saving his best games against the best teams. In fact, all four of his Premier League doubles have come against Big Six clubs (hat tip to Sky Sports Statto):
- Feb. 2016: Two goals at home against Arsenal
- March 2018: Two goals at home against Liverpool
- Aug. 2019: Two goals at home against Chelsea
- Dec. 4, 2019: Two goals at home against Tottenham
He nearly had a hat trick if it wasn't for this fantastic save by Paulo Gazzaniga:
Play of the game
How could we not go with what happened to Jose Mourinho's kneecaps in the early goings of this match. United midfielder Daniel James was tripped up on a slide tackle from Spurs midfielder Harry Winks and banged his head off Mourinho's right knee. The Portuguese manager hobbled off but remained on the touch line.
What's next
Manchester United leapfrogs Spurs with the win, but may have some difficulty maintaining that advantage after this weekend when it heads to Etihad Stadium for a cross-town matchup against Manchester City in the Manchester Derby on Saturday. City is fresh off a comfortable 4-1 win at Turf Moor over Burnley. Speaking of which, the Spurs will look to get back on track against the Clarets on Saturday. You can stream most Premier League matches all season via fuboTV (Try for free).
Relive all the action from Wednesday's contest below: