75 passes, 4 clearances: Spurs defender was ‘imperious’ v Manchester United
Pape Matar Sarr broke the deadlock for Tottenham in the 49th minute, firing past Andre Onana from Dejan Kulusevski’s cutback.
Tottenham then forced an own goal from Lisandro Martinez in the 83rd minute after great work from Ivan Perisic and James Maddison.
It was a monumental team effort, with the vast majority of the Spurs players delivering solid displays.
The Tottenham back line, for so long one of the team’s weak points, was pretty much watertight against Man United.
And Cristian Romero once again showed the class that has made him the Lilywhites’ top defender since he came in through the door.
‘Important interventions’
Football.london‘s Alasdair Gold gave him an 8 out of 10 rating for his efforts on the day.
‘Back after his clash of heads, he had a VAR check against him for a potential handball in the Spurs box in the first half with nothing given,’ he wrote.
‘Otherwise he was imperious at the back and played some lovely passes out to the flanks.’
Likewise, Dan Kilpatrick of the Evening Standard went with an 8 out of 10 for the World Cup winner.
‘Made some important interventions defensively and was excellent at playing out with the ball,’ he wrote.
‘Might have both won and conceded a penalty on another day.’
As per Whoscored.com, Romero also clocked up some impressive stats.
The 25-year-old took 90 touches of the ball, made 74 passes and registered one effort at the other end.
He also weighed in with four clearances, three blocks, one tackle and one interception.
There were also three accurate long ball deliveries.
All in all, a great day at the office for the entire Spurs team, with the back line deserving a special mention
Still in the same match:
ANGE POSTECOGLOU HAILS ‘BRILLIANT’ £14.6M TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR PLAYER
The Senegal international made a lung-busting run into the box to fire home as United failed to deal with a Dejan Kulusevski cross.
Lisandro Martinez’s own goal sealed the win for Tottenham, handing Postecoglou his first major win as Spurs boss.
Tottenham certainly deserved the win and played some exceptional football in the second half with their midfield purring.
Yves Bissouma and James Maddison were outstanding once again but there was a huge impact from Sarr too.
Ange Postecoglou hails Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pape Matar Sarr
Sarr signed for Tottenham back in 2021 but may still be somewhat unknown to many Premier League fans.
The 20-year-old sign for around £14.6million but was loaned to back to Metz before joining up with Spurs last summer.
Antonio Conte didn’t really give Sarr much of a chance last season but Postecoglou has taken a real liking to him.
Postecoglou hailed Sarr as a ‘great talent’ and ‘outstanding’ just last month so maybe his starring role against United shouldn’t have been a surprise.
Postecoglou has unsurprisingly reaffirmed his admiration for Sarr following Saturday’s win over United.
The Australian told Football London that he felt Sarr was ‘brilliant’ and has been simply ‘great’ ever since Postecoglou arrived in North London.
Postecoglou praised Sarr’s ability to drive at opponents and cause real chaos, praising his temperament in the process.
“Yeah, brilliant,” said Postecoglou. “He’s been great from the moment I arrived. He’s got a great energy about him, but he’s got quality there too. He’s one of those midfielders who causes the opposition real problems because whether it’s him running with the ball or without the ball, he runs forward, he runs aggressively and he disrupts the opposition. He’s just got a great temperament for a young guy. So really pleased for him,” he added