
FULL-TIME! Tottenham 3-0 Man Utd
The 15-year wait to beat United at White Hart Lane has ended and Tottenham close the gap to league leaders Leicester to seven points with five games to go. They were excellent in the second half here and their hopes remain very much alive but Mauricio Pochettino’s team still require Leicester to slip up. And after their latest win at Sunderland earlier that looks unlikely. Thanks for reading. Until next time!
Updated
90 min +1: Alli is booked for simulation after going down in the area under pressure from Darmian. Mason then replaces him.
90 min: There will be four minutes added on. Ryan Mason is about to come on … when Spurs are finished with a spell of “Olés”
88 min: And now Son is on for Kane, who also – unsurprisingly – receives a standing ovation from the jubilant home fans.
87 min: Chadli is given a run out for Lamela, who departs to a standing ovation. He very much redeemed himself after that shocking first half miss – assisting for Alderweireld before scoring the third.
84 min: Young is now booked for a tackle from behind on Rose near halfway. A pointless challenge.
82 min: Depay and Walker square up to each other near the corner flag. Time for Mike Dean to take centre stage. Yellow cards for both after the worst handbags of the season.
Updated
80 min: United win a corner that Rose clears with his nose. Unconventional but he, er, sniffed the danger and blew it away.
78 min: Kane almost makes it four, heading a Lamela delivery goalwards. De Gea turns it over the bar for a corner.
77 min: “Lads, it’s Tottenham,” United are not capable of scoring one, nevermind four or five. Depay has replaced Mata, who is shaking his head in disgust.
Updated
76 min: Walker’s long diagonal is headed down by Alli to Rose. The left-back rolls a low cross towards Lamela, who loses Blind, and redeems himself with a tidy first-time left-footer into De Gea’s bottom right corner.
Goal! Tottenham 3-0 Man United (Lamela)
Oh this is outrageous.
Updated
74 min: That should be it. Lamela sends another delightful ball, from a deep free-kick, towards the penalty spot. The Belgian defender rises above Rojo and directs a bullet header home. That’s his fourth of the season and Spurs’ title fight remains on.
Goal! Tottenham 2-0 Man Utd (Alderweireld)
The A-Team do it for Spurs.
Updated
73 min: Watching it back, it’s all about the Eriksen pass. Absolutely exquisite. And considering United’s lack of threat up top, the 15 game wait for a home win for Spurs over their Mancunian visitors must be ended now.
70 min: After a scramble in midfield, Kane feeds Eriksen to his left. His delicious cross splits the United defence and Alli, unmarked, side foots home past De Gea.
Goal! Tottenham 1-0 Man Utd (Alli)
In his last game as a teenager, Alli gives Spurs the lead.
Updated
69 min: It is hard to be overly critical of Young because he is playing in an unfamiliar position but he has not had any impact since coming on.
66 min: Rose’s low cross from the left is deflected heavily by Mata. De Gea reacts quickly to save. Seconds later Eriksen volleys wide from range. Fosu-Mensah has come back on but is struggling and will soon be replaced by Darmian.
65 min: A reminder in case you are joining us late: the game kicked-off 30 minutes late due to United’s bus being stuck in traffic. It took them two hours to make an eight-mile journey from their hotel.
64 min: Fosu-Mensah is off for some treatment after getting a knock from Alli. He will trot back on after a bit of magic spray.
In the other 4pm kick-off Liverpool have beaten Stoke 4-1.
62 min: What a chance for Martial. He dribbles between Dier and Walker on the left, and strides in to the area, cutting inside Vertonghen. He pulls the trigger. The shot has venom but lacks direction. Lloris saves.
60 min: Rojo wins a corner off Alderweireld following a one-two with Martial on the left. Blind takes it short to Mata. It comes to nowt and Spurs break. Fosu-Mensah covers well to send the ball out for a throw.
58 min: … meanwhile Mata remains on the right with Lingard as the No10. Van Gaal’s process is quite something.
55 min: A give and go between Martial and Lingard sees the France attacker – who remains on the left with Young up top! – cut in but he is crowded out on the edge of the area.
53 min: Kane rolls Blind too easily but his shot from distance is saved by De Gea.
Updated
51 min: Spurs do have a couple of attempts from range – from Dier and Eriksen – but De Gea saves both.
49 min: Neither side appear capable of keeping possession at the moment. It remains full of blood and thunder but a little too frantic for passages of play to develop.
A highlight of the afternoon so far.
The lesser spotted #CelebrityLino in the tunnel at White Hart Lane pre-match.https://t.co/3S26qY1uuC
— Celebrity Refs (@CelebrityRefs) April 10, 2016
Restarted!
46 min: We are off again. Young is playing up top and Martial remains on the left.
Ashley Young has replaced Marcus Rashford at half-time. No word on whether the young United attacker is injured or whether it’s tactical. Spurs as they were.
Updated
Half-time
It’s scoreless. Lamela, however, should really have Tottenham ahead. United dominated the opening 20 minutes but Spurs were the better side in the latter stages of an energetic opening period.
44 min: Smalling takes down Kane on the right wing from a position Eriksen will relish delivering from. Vertonghen and Alderweireld both come up but Dier goes closest to getting on the end of the delivery, throwing his left leg out. He is unable to connect and the ball goes out for a goal-kick. Replays show it took a touch off Martial’s shin, though.
43 min: Rose charges down the left again but his return pass from Eriksen is overhit and United have a goal-kick.
39 min: Blind tries to feed Rashford with a long ball. His radar is off and Spurs have a goal-kick. Lloris takes it short to Walker, who almost finds himself in a bit of bother only for Dean’s whistle to blow for offside on Martial.
38 min: A rare lull. It has been the type of breathless, high intensity game the Premier League and its stakeholders champion but has the technical execution been all that? Certainly the best chance was wasted by Lamela.
35 min: Martial, chalk on his boots, is closed down well by Walker, who ensures a goal-kick.
Updated
32 min: Lamela is annoyed not to have won a free-kick after a battle with Fosu-Mensah on the left wing. A goal-kick is given, the right call from Mike Dean.
28 min: Suddenly the hosts are well on top. Lamela misses an absolute sitter – heading wide from a floated Eriksen cross only six yards out – seconds after Kane goes close only to be denied by a Fosu-Mensah block.
Updated
26 min: Spurs’ first notable chance comes from Eriksen, who is given a yard by Fosu-Mensah and allows him to drill a tasty right-footed shot narrowly wide. De Gea makes his feelings known to United’s young right-back.
24 min: Now it is Rose’s turn to attack, up against Mata. The defender’s cross is deflected away from danger.
22 min: Fosu-Mensah has been impressive so far. He wins a corner off Rose. Blind shuffles over to take. A lone Spurs fan shouts: “You’re shit”. The delivery is way overhit but United recycle on the left before Spurs clear.
19 min: Tottenham have woken up. Dembele shows good fight in midfield to win possession but when Rose is fed on the left, his cross has too much juice on it and United have a goal-kick.
17 min: And just after saying that … Tottenham win a corner. Lamela plays it low to Rose on the edge of the area. He gives it back to Lamela, who sends a first time cross in. Kane is there to turn the ball goalwards and De Gea saves with his legs. No matter, the offside flag is up.
Updated
15 min: United are still dominating this. Refraining from cheap parking the bus gags, this has been quite good from the visitors. Spurs have not yet produced a thing of note.
14 min: Marcus Rojo is penalised for a foul throw. Startling ineptitude.
11 min: Fosu-Mensah plays a one-two with Mata near halfway and races down the right. He has little support so cuts in and shoots himself. It’s deflected out for a corner. Blind takes towards Smalling but Vertonghen, while hugging the England defender (who sure enjoys a hold himself), puts the ball out for another corner. Blind trots across to the opposite side but his delivery is cleared.
9 min: Tottenham have a free-kick in United’s half after Lingard goes in late on Rose. Both Spurs centre-halves are up for it but it is taken short by Eriksen towards Rose, who wins a throw-in.
8 min: United continue to dominate here. Mata swings in from the left corner towards the back stick. Martial volleys across goal and Spurs break, only for the counter to be cut out by an alert and alive Mata.
7 min: Meanwhile, the away fans are taunting the home support with chants of “You nearly won the league”. It’s not over just yet … but you sense United could finish it in the next couple of hours.
Updated
5 min: Tottenham have not yet strung more than two passes together. United push forward again, Martial shooting wide from the edge of the area.
4 min: United are moving the ball nicely around midfield. Mata is fouled wide on the right by Rose, who pushes the little Spaniard to the ground near halfway. The free-kick is taken sideways and an attack down the left ensues, concluding with an overhit pass from Blind to Martial. Spurs have a goal-kick.
2 min: United have enjoyed most of the ball early on but cannot as yet find any way through on goal.
We're off!
1 min: United kick-off, playing in red from left to right as we watch it. Spurs are in white.
The teams are on their way out! We have a game!
Updated
Louis van Gaal on Traffic Gate: “We have driven round in circles. It’s unbelievable that you cannot get to the place where you need to be.” But when asked on Sky Sports if it gives Tottenham an advantage he adds that it will have also had an impact on their hosts, saying their preparation would have suffered too even if they were at the ground.
They have arrived! Kick-off is set for 4.30pm.
Because the creators of our content system have made adding pictures to liveblogs unnecessarily difficult, here is the Premier League rulebook on kicking off late in tweet form:
United will be punished for arriving to White Hart Lane late but league rulebook a little grey pic.twitter.com/gxEYffGwc5
— Alan Smith (@alansmith90) April 10, 2016
Kick-off is now 4.30pm and could be even later. United are still not at the ground.
And still we wait for United to arrive at White Hart Lane.
Full-time: Sunderland 0-2 Leicester. Claudio Ranieri’s team are 10 points clear of Tottenham, 13 in front of Arsenal.
United have still not made it to White Hart Lane, so kick-off might be delayed again.
Updated
The only notable piece of team news is the return of Jan Vertonghen in the middle of Tottenham’s defence after 11 weeks out with an injury sustained at Crystal Palace. How long can he last? Will he be able to quieten Marcus Rashford? Timothy Fosu-Mensah starts at the back for the visitors, Matteo Darmian is on the bench and Wayne Rooney remains out.
Kick-off has been delayed by 15 minutes because Manchester United’s bus is stuck in infamous north London traffic!
Updated
The teams
Tottenham: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Dier, Dembele; Lamela, Eriksen, Alli; Kane. Subs: Vorm, Son, Mason, Trippier, Chadli, Wimmer, Carroll.
Manchester United: De Gea; Fosu-Mensah, Smalling, Blind, Rojo; Schneiderlin, Carrick, Mata, Lingard, Martial; Rashford. Subs: Romero, Darmian, Valencia, Young, Fellaini, Herrera, Memphis.
Referee: Mike Dean.
Updated
Hello. So many of Tottenham’s so-called Spursy moments down through the years have come against Manchester United – 29 September 2001 and 25 April 2009 to name but two of the more spectacular surrenders – but that tag appears antiquated under Mauricio Pochettino. This, too, is no longer the headstrong Manchester United that viewed Spurs as easy prey. Needless to say, Louis van Gaal is unlikely to repeat Sir Alex Ferguson’s “Lads, it’s Tottenham” team talk here, even if they have not lost at White Hart Lane in 14 league attempts, dating back to May 2001.
“This would be a good moment to change the history,” Pochettino, the man who has converted Spurs from mentally fragile to fearless, said in the buildup. Considering Leicester have not found a way to score at Sunderland then a win here would be a lot better than good providing things remain the same at the Stadium of Light. Scrap that, Jamie Vardy has just scored to put Leicester 1-0 up with about 20 minutes to go. So … victory here would keep Tottenham’s hopes of a first title since 1961 alive. Defeat could be the final nail. “Our challenge is to try to compete at the end of the season and to have the possibility to fight for the title on the last game,” Pochettino added. “It would be great to write a new chapter with the possibility to win the league.”
United, to be fair, have improved in recent weeks – winning four of their past five to keep within touching distance of fourth position, presently occupied by their uncertain neighbours City. Would anybody be surprised to witness another anaemic showing though?
Kick-off is 4pm in north London. Team news to follow.
