Spurs pay the penalty

Sorry. That headline is always used on Football Manager, and I thought I’d nab it myself. Tottenham were denied a second straight Carling Cup victory, as Manchester United beat them 4-1 on Penalties. Giggs, Tevez, Ronaldo and Anderson all buried their spot kicks.

Phase two of Man United’s quintiple (quintuple? I never know) is done then, and now only the three meaningful trophies to go. Man United of course have had the perfect weekend, with Liverpool’s loss to Middlesbrough further cementing United’s strong position at the the top of the Premier League.

The game began brightly, with Gomes looking troubled by efforts from Gibson and a dipping volly from Rio ferdinand, both of which went over the crossbar. Aaron Lennon at the other end got creative, giving Spurs a foothold in the game, which slowly began to fizzle out.

Ronaldo added to his collection of yellow cards, booked again for diving just inside the box. The Portuguese had a frustrating afternoon, with Spurs marking him completely out of long spells of the game.

Spurs meanwhile will have been dissapointed to see John o’Shea not sent off after a tackle on Luka Modric went without a card to the already booked central defender. He was hastily taken off by Sir Alex Ferguson soonafter.

Good news for England as Ben Foster put in an impressive display in front of a watching Fabio Capello. Don Fabio will be hoping that Foster can slowly begin to push Van Der Saar out of this United team as the England boss is struggling to come up with a convincing replacement to David James.

So Man United win the second trophy of the season and now Sir Alex can concentrate on the Champions League game with Inter, and the FA Cup. Because the Prem looks all but over.

Some Related Premier League Posts:

Category: Carling Cup