Tottenham vs. Manchester United: Score, Reaction from 2016 Premier League Match

An inspired second-half performance saw Tottenham Hotspur throttle Manchester United 3-0 on Sunday, as Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela scored to keep the north Londoners' title dream alive.  

The two teams went in scoreless at the break, but Spurs bagged three in the space of six minutes to close the gap on Premier League leaders Leicester City to seven points.

The two best defences in the Premier League came together in the capital, where it was unsurprisingly a tight and tetchy collision for the most part, bereft of many open scoring opportunities for either side.

The White Hart Lane clash was delayed by 30 minutes after BBC Sport confirmed traffic prevented Manchester United from arriving at White Hart Lane as scheduled:

Manchester United made their way to north London knowing a win would pull them back within a single point of fourth-placed Manchester City, while Spurs' hopes of a title push rested on the line.

There were factors in play outside of White Hart Lane, too. ESPN FC's Alex Shaw highlighted that a Spurs win would mean Leicester City—who defeated Sunderland 2-0 earlier on Sunday—would be assured a UEFA Champions League spot:

But manager Mauricio Pochettino's side got off to an uncertain start in front of the home crowd, and the hurried pace of a United team finally finding some form were found to be frustrating guests.

Although clear-cut chances in front of goal were difficult to come by, United—and the midfield quartet of Michael Carrick, Juan Mata, Morgan Schneiderlin and Jesse Lingard in particular—got a steady hold of the ball.  

Timothy Fosu-Mensah had a key hand in preventing Spurs from opening a lead just prior to the half-hour mark, sliding in for a vital block after Lamela's work down the left tore United's back line apart.

It was Harry Kane who saw that effort blocked from close range, before Lamela himself missed a sitter from just six yards out, per Sky Sports Football:

But United were enjoying the longer passages of possession and accounted for almost 75 percent of the ball heading in at the break, according to WhoScored.com, albeit with quite little penetration.

The success of both teams this season has been based largely on their stingy defensive records, and a bore draw at the break perhaps wasn't a surprise to many:

Red Devils manager Louis van Gaal has left heads scratching with some tactical decisions this season, evoking the same reaction from some when he brought off youngster Marcus Rashford at half-time for Ashley Young.

However, instead of natural forward Anthony Martial floating into the centre, the Frenchman remained on the left flank while Young occupied the striker role, and bookmakers William Hill were among the confused masses:

Perhaps it was the loss of Rashford's holding presence that contributed to United's fallen share of possession, with Tottenham storming back into the fray with much more composure in the second half.

Those improvements finally paid dividends in the 70th minute, when Christian Eriksen was found in space down the left before patching a sublime cross through to an onrushing Alli in the middle. According to Yahoo's Andrew Gaffney, it would have been harder for the England midfielder to miss:

The pressure continued to reign down United's right flank, and Matteo Darmian—on as a substitute for the injured Fosu-Mensah—gifted Spurs a free-kick in his half just minutes after the opener.

Lamela had impressed for much of the tie, and it was his bulleted ball in that Alderweireld managed to divert inside David De Gea's right post, with the Spain goalkeeper helpless but to watch as the hosts' lead was doubled. Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News described United's (and Van Gaal's) disappointment:

And then came Lamela's turn to gather the plaudits, with the Red Devils' right side once again crumbling, this time with Danny Rose crossing in for the Argentina attacker to drill in a third for Tottenham.

Again, De Gea had little chance to prevent a low, accurately drilled shot into his bottom-left corner, and Bet365 illustrated just how swiftly the game had been turned on its head:

Six minutes was all it took for Tottenham to go from potentially losing ground in the Premier League title race to looking as rabid as ever in their hounding of the league-leading Foxes.

For United, a quick capitulation in north London brought up further questions of weaknesses in defence, questionable strategy and the haunting reminder there are indeed bigger and better teams in England at present. 

Post-Match Reaction

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

Although the first-half performance created cause for concern among some sections of the White Hart Lane crowd on Sunday, a much-improved second-half display left Pochettino in awe of his men.

The Argentinian manager even went so far as to call Tottenham's second half performance "perfect" when speaking to Sky Sports after the result (h/t BBC Sport):

"

The performance was perfect in the second half, we are very pleased. Full credit to the players It was a fantastic job. Beating Manchester United 3-0, you have to be happy.

In the first half both teams were fighting a lot and it was not clear who had the power to manage the game but in the second half we dominated better and started to find space to create chances.

We believe and still fight, the motivation is big and massive. We need to try to get points and try to arrive at the end of the season with the possibility to win the title.

"

United chief Van Gaal had the opposite impression of his side's display and felt everything was positive until Alli's first goal went in, according to Metro's Chris Winterburn:

The former Netherlands manager also explained his decision to field substitute Young up front and said he wished to see "more running," per Winterburn.

With just a single shot on target in 90 minutes, it's safe to say those plans didn't come off as intended, and United will head back to the drawing board while Spurs are left to bask in their latest triumph.