WINNING JOSE’S WAY
Reds boss schools Pochettino in the art of football success
ANDER HERRERA struck - and even with almost a third of the contest still to play, Mauricio Pochettino knew the game was up.
Tottenham’s Argentine manager held his head in despair, while a few feet away Jose Mourinho smirked like a man who has seen it all before. Because he has.
Mourinho is a winner. And despite being schooled in the Premier League and the Champions League this season, he will be fighting for a trophy when the 137th FA Cup Final is staged next month. If he is victorious, it will be United’s third trophy in two seasons. What Spurs would give for that kind of disappointment.
The thousand-yard stare on the face of Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy in the Royal Box said it all as Herrera wheeled away to celebrate becoming United’s unlikely match-winner in the 62nd minute.
Spurs don’t do trophies. Yes they compete admirably on a fraction of the budget spent by England’s other top teams.
And once again next year, they’ll be heading into the Champions League.
But there won’t be a pot to polish sitting in their brandspanking new £1billion White Hart Lane.
It all started so well for the men from North London. They went ahead in the 10th minute with a goal that would have had Mourinho once again pointing the finger at Paul Pogba.
United’s attempt to press Davinson Sanchez forced the Spurs defender to launch a huge pass down the right channel more out of hope than expectation.
Forced
But Pogba had failed to match Christian Eriksen’s run and the Dane dashed forward before delivering a cross that Dele Alli forced home at the far post.
Harry Kane almost doubled the lead, but just couldn’t stretch himself enough to convert Son Heung-Min cross at the far post.
Tottenham fail once more when the chips are down
Then only a brilliant Phil Jones interception prevented Alli from converting another Son cross from the left.
Spurs were rampant and United were hanging on. But with Kane once again below par, Pochettino’s side could not land the killer blow.
Eriksen scuffed a shot just wide after Son and Alli had carved the Reds wide open again.
Pogba had been substituted in United’s 2-0 Premier league defeat by Spurs earlier in the season.
The same thought must have been going through Mourinho’s mind when the £89million midfielder dragged his team back into the game with a flash of real quality in the 24th minute.
First Pogba outmuscled Mousa Dembele wide on the left and after looking up to glimpse Sanchez pulling away at the far post, caressed the perfect cross for the Chilean to guide a header past Michel Vorm.
Pogba caught the eye again with a 25-yard curler destined for the bottom corner until Vorm went full length to save.
But at the other end, Eric Dier let fly with a speculative shot from distance that left David De Gea stranded after taking a deflection off Chris Smalling but his effort cannoned back off the foot of a post.
After a blistering first period, the second half took time to heat up.
Spurs probed and pressed, while United repelled and tried to counter-attack.
Industry
Next goal would be the winner – and it came when Herrera illustrated the kind of industry that his manager loves to become the hero.
One moment the Spanish midfielder was nodding a cross back into the hands of De Gea, the next he was arriving on the edge of Tottenham’s box as Sanchez outfoxed Kieran Trippier on the left.
Sanchez’s pass was nudged on by Romelu Lukaku, and Jesse Lingard allowed the ball to roll into the path of Herrera to beat Vorm with a low firsttime shot.
There was no coming back from that, and United sub Marcus Rashford wasted a great chance to seal it on the break. late on.