Tottenham 1-0 Man Utd: Match report & 3 talking points from gripping 38-shot encounter | OneFootball

FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM - James Maddison's first-half tap-in ensured that Tottenham Hotspur got the better of Manchester United in what can only be described as a one-goal thriller.

There was a swollen abundance of squandered chances in the type of gripping contest where minutes race by like seconds. The two floundering giants combined to rattle off 38 shots, yet Maddison's 13th-minute effort was the only one which crossed the goal-line.

Victory for Spurs lifted them up to the heady heights of 12th while United continue to toil away in 15th place.

The entire Premier League season has been devoid of the sterile excellence Manchester City and Liverpool served up in years gone by. There was never any danger of that quality seeping into today's contest.

Both sides may have started the game in the bottom seven of the Premier League, but they also represent two of the nine richest clubs in the world. This staggering disconnect can be explained through injuries and bad luck, but incompetence should not be overlooked.

Guglielmo Vicario had already made three saves before Maddison fired Spurs ahead after 13 minutes, following in Andre Onana's shovelled save. Each wide-open outfit seemed to be locked in a perpetual state of shock that the other would try to knock a ball over the top into the ample space which existed behind each backline.

Spurs proved to be just as vulnerable when they had the ball. A hardly intense United press forced several cheap turnovers, one of which led to Bruno Fernandes sliding the ball into Alejandro Garnacho's stride. Unmarked, all of eight yards from goal, the mercurial winger blazed his effort so high it would have flown over two goal-frames stacked upon one another. Fernandes was not impressed.

As the baby blue sky sweeping over this vast bowl of a stadium gradually grew dark before turning a deep navy all at once, Tottenham finished the first half with a stranglehold over proceedings.

That illusion of control proved to be temporary, although Tottenham's threat remained. As the gravity of United's setup crept forward in search of an equaliser, Spurs speared behind the visiting red shirts only to be gripped by the same wastefulness in front of goal which plagued the Red Devils in the first half.

United carried their profligacy over to the Paxton End, as Garnacho and Joshua Zirzkee were guilty of skewed efforts and spurned opportunities.

Battle of the ideologues

Ruben Amorim trying to get in on the action / Marc Atkins/GettyImages

"I understand the connection with me and Ange - we have the same problems," Ruben Amorim admitted ahead of Sunday's clash between two managers wedded to very distinct styles of play. As the Portuguese boss pointed out: "It is important for a coach to follow his principles."

Postecoglou has not been able to deploy 'Angeball' in all its fun and flawed glory for the last two months given Tottenham's prolific number of absentees. But with a backline entirely comprised of defenders for once, Spurs were able to push higher up the pitch and enjoyed large spells of controlled possession - mainly in the first half.

United dutifully trundled out in their head coach's familiar 3-4-2-1 shape despite the club's fresh fitness crisis. With four recognised central midfielders sidelined, Amorim was forced to deploy a wild-eyed double pivot of Fernandes and Casemiro. Both players have struggled with the dual-demands of this central role when lined up next to a suitable partner, yet their flaws were magnified alongside one another on Sunday.

The Red Devils have hardly been parsimonious this term, yet Tottenham's tally of 22 shots was the highest they had conceded in any Premier League game since September - when they last faced Spurs.

Tottenham reap the rewards of their returnees

James Maddison broke the deadlock / Sebastian Frej/MB Media/GettyImages

Postecoglou recently joked that the light at the end of the tunnel when it came to Tottenham's injury updates always turned out to be an oncoming train. For once, the stoney-faced Australian had avoided the locomotive and was able to deliver some positive news. Two of the returnees proved particularly effective.

Maddison was in the right place to bundle in the opening goal, but beyond that tap-in, he conveyed a sense of authority over proceedings in the middle of the pitch with what his manager described as "personality". The stadium marked his second-half departure with a standing ovation.

At the other end of the pitch, Vicario's impact was also tangible. The Italian shot-stopper had not been spotted since powering through the final hour of November's victory over Manchester City with a fractured ankle, but picked up from where he left off, repelling an early flurry of efforts with his signature elasticity.

Vicario twice rebuffed Garnacho after the break with the type of rock-solid wrists that his understudy, Antonin Kinsky, was lacking in last weekend's defeat to Aston Villa. The oft-skittish Italian even seemed to be vaguely commanding in the air.

While Spurs finally appear to be nearing the conclusion of their fitness foibles, United's have only just begun.

Injury-ravaged United have no depth

Six members of Manchester United's bench weren't born when the Glazers bought the club / Justin Setterfield/GettyImages

The irony cannot have been lost on the powerbrokers at Manchester United that, in the same week plans for widespread cuts to the club's scouting system were revealed, Amorim was forced to name eight teenagers on the bench.

To see Victor Lindelof warm up on the touchline alongside United's other substitutes felt like peering in on a PE teacher mucking in with his students.

A full-blown injury crisis which ruled out ten first-team players led to this embryonic selection. Yet, Amorim didn't turn to the kids until tossing on Chido Obi in second-half stoppage time. If United decimate their scouting department as planned, how will they find youngsters who the head coach does trust?

Check out our player ratings from Tottenham 1-0 Man Utd here.