Man United Edges Tottenham in ICC Friendly on Angel Gomes's Winner
Manchester United beat Tottenham 2-1 in the International Champions Cup on Thursday as goals from Anthony Martial and Angel Gomes saw off Mauricio Pochettino's men in Shanghai.
A lively start to the match saw United come closest, as Martial struck the upright following a fine burst of pace from Daniel James in midfield. Some sustained Red Devils pressure then waned and Dele Alli forced a smart low save from David de Gea after neat play from Troy Parrott.
The deadlock was broken after 21 minutes when Martial fired through a combination of Paulo Gazzaniga's arm and leg after being threaded through by Andrea Pereira. Shortly after, Moussa Sissoko was fortunate to avoid serious punishment after an apparent stamp on James, with a small melee ensuing between the two sides.
United continued to look good in possession and Paul Pogba flashed a fierce drive just wide ahead of the halftime whistle.
Wholesale changes happened for both sides during the break, with substitute Son Heung-min attempting an audacious long-range chip over Sergio Romero five minutes into the half. With the South Korean up front Spurs looked much livelier, and their equalizer came via Lucas Moura's deflected strike in the 65th minute.
Despite coming under sustained pressure, it was United who scored crucial third goal through another one of the club's youngsters. The 18-year-old Gomes played a neat one-two with Juan Mata before driving at goal and slotting it into the far corner from an acute angle.
It proved to be the winner, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side make it four wins from four preseason games ahead of jetting off to Oslo to face Kristiansund and then Cardiff to meet Milan in the final preparations before the start of the Premier League season.
Here's a closer look at the match:
Tottenham
Key Talking Point
Following their dramatic late win over Juventus, Spurs took on familiar foes in the form of Premier League rivals United. The opening two minutes looked like setting the precedent for the rest of the match, but some wayward crossing and slow build-up play meant Spurs were second best throughout the first half.
The addition of Son for the second period seemed to spark Tottenham into life, and the South Korean was a menace to the Red Devils' back four among a rejuvenated Spurs team. Moura's goal had a great degree of fortunate about it, but Pochettino's change paid dividends.
Spurs looked the side more likely to snatch a winner but fell behind with less than 10 minutes to play after some fine forward play from their opponents. Pochettino will be pleased with his side's second half display - which was a huge improvement on the first - but may have concerns over their failure to capitalize when on top.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Gazzaniga (5); Walker-Peters (6), Tanganga (6), Vertonghen (6), Georgiou (5); Winks (6), Sissoko (6), Ndombele (8*), Alli (5); Kane (5), Parrott (7)
Substitutes: Lamela (6) Son (8), Foyth (7), Alderweireld (6), Moura (7), Eriksen (7), Roles (6), White (6), Skipp (7), Marsh (6)
Star Man
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When you join as the club's record signing, no matter how you paint it, the pressure is most certainly on you. Tanguy Ndombele looks like he could be the perfect box-to-box midfielder for Spurs, showing the characteristics that are required to fulfil the role already in his short time with Tottenham.
Strong in the tackle but also capable of linking up with the forwards, the £55m man looks worth every penny the club splashed out on him already.
Manchester United
Key Talking Point
With two signings in the bag and a few more supposedly on the way, the only thing left to worry about for United are matters on the pitch.
After weathering an early barrage from Spurs, United grew into the game and their younger stars stood up to the challenge and had their opponents under the cosh for good spells of the first half and deservedly led at after 45 minutes.
A totally different side entered for the second half, with Solskjaer eager to reserve energy in the heat, as the Red Devils needed to show their defensive side for extended spells, but were unable to prevent the Tottenham equalizer. It mattered for little, however, as another one of United's exciting young talents performed on the big stage to improve the feel-good factor around Old Trafford at the moment.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: De Gea (7); Wan-Bissaka (7), Smalling (6), Rojo (5), Young (6); Pereira (7), McTominay (7), Martial (7), Pogba (7), James (8*); Greenwood (6)
Substitutes: Romero (6), Bailly (N/A), Tuanzebe (7), Dalot (7), Lindelof (6), Shaw (6), Fred (7), Matic (6), Mata (6), Gomes (7), Lingard (6), Rashford (6)
Star Man
Di Yin/GettyImages
He was hacked to bits at time during the first half, but a testament to Daniel James's character and will to succeed is the fact he got up every time, undeterred by the occasion, and even a stamp by Sissoko.
More importantly, his work rate was second to none, bursting down the left side with blistering pace at any given opportunity as well as tracking back to cover Ashley Young when necessary. An example of his determination was a moment when he lost the ball on the left, but sprinted to the other end of the pitch to win it back with furor.
