Anthony Martial Hands Manchester United Late Winner vs. Tottenham

Substitute Anthony Martial scored inside the final 10 minutes to help Manchester United beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Saturday.

Martial came off the bench to replace Marcus Rashford in the second half and enlivened a United side lacking ideas and inspiration going forward. It was the same story for Spurs, who were without star striker Harry Kane.

Tottenham stay third despite the defeat, and United closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to two points ahead of the rest of Saturday's games.

Spurs started with Heung-Min Son up top in place of the injured Kane, who was out with a hamstring problem. Tottenham also included Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko in midfield.

Meanwhile, United welcomed Eric Bailly back into the heart of defence.

The hosts bossed the opening 10 minutes, pressing high to put the Tottenham defence under consistent pressure. Yet for all their running, United's best chance came from a Rashford free-kick that was palmed away low by Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

It did at least go down as a shot on target for United, something of a rarity in recent matches, per BBC 5 live Sport:

Spurs then assumed control of midfield, where a diamond of Sissoko, Winks, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli routinely outnumbered Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera. Tottenham's pressure forced a mix-up at the back for United, with Phil Jones knocking the ball loose from David De Gea's grip, only for Sissoko to blaze the ball high and wide.

Spurs had another solid chance five minutes before the break when Eric Dier reached a corner, but his hooked shot was easy for De Gea to claim.

At the other end, United were playing with two up top but still struggled to get their key attacking players involved as a goalless first half wound down, per Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News:

Spurs twice narrowly escaped danger within the first 10 minutes of the second half. First, Mkhitaryan's low shot squirmed away from Lloris, but Ben Davies beat Rashford to the rebound. Then Mkhitaryan's low cross across the face of goal somehow rolled out of Lukaku's reach.

Needing more impetus, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino took off Son and Sissoko for Fernando Llorente and Mousa Dembele. United manager Jose Mourinho responded by hooking Mkhitaryan for Jesse Lingard.

Martial soon came on for Rashford, although BBC Sport's Phil McNulty noted how not everybody agreed with Mourinho's second switch:

Even so, United went close again when Lukaku raced clear of Dier and flashed a cross-shot Lloris had to palm away. Antonio Valencia then found himself booked for diving as United continued to press.

Spurs should have taken the lead when Eriksen's precise angled chip found Alli in the box. The latter attempted to finish with the outside of his boot but poked wide of the post.

United's response was to go closer, as Lukaku placed a header on to the post after meeting a cross from Lingard.

When the goal arrived, it came from the most simple of sources, as United went route one to take the lead. De Gea's punt forward was headed on by Lukaku, and Dier got ahead of the ball, allowing Martial to race in behind and slot home the winner.

WhoScored.com noted how Martial has made a habit of scoring off the bench this season:

Meanwhile, Lukaku's contribution continued his prolific form in the final third since joining the Reds from Everton this summer, per Squawka Football:

United were far from impressive, but without key contributor Paul Pogba, they just about did what they had to do to overcome a Spurs side woefully lacking cutting edge without Kane. The Red Devils are staying in touch but will have to play a lot better to get their Manchester neighbours worried.