#CultClashes – Five Fantastic Fixtures Between Man United And Tottenham
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Manchester United travel to White Hart Lane this weekend and rarely has there been so much riding on a match with Tottenham Hotspur.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men remain the most likely heirs to the Premier League crown should title favourites Leicester slip up, while the Red Devils are desperate for three points as the race to finish in the top four intensifies.
With the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial grabbing the headlines this season it promised to be an enthralling encounter in north London.
But can Sunday’s late kick-off match the best these two sides have had to offer down the years.
Here’s Ladbrokes News top five so far, including that incredible comeback from the Old Trafford club…
Tottenham 4-1 Man United – January 1 1996
Having relinquished their title to Blackburn Rovers the year before, United were hell bent on bringing the trophy back to Old Trafford and while that would ultimately prove the case a New Year’s Day visit to White Hart Lane did little to calm the nerves en route.
Future United star Teddy Sheringham opened the scoring in the first half only for Andy Cole to level things three minutes later.
A rare Sol Campbell strike gave Spurs the lead before Peter Schmeichel was forced off through injury. Kevin Pilkington may have seen his introduction as a chance to stake a claim for the Great Dane’s place but Lilywhites striker Chris Armstrong didn’t get the memo – helping himself to a second-half brace to complete the rout.
Man United 2-1 Tottenham – May 16 1999
Arsenal were the side to have taken United’s crown this time round but a last day win over Spurs would ensure they wrestled the title back from the Gunners.
Les Ferdinand showed he didn’t care where the trophy ended up, north London rivals or not, by firing the visitors ahead in the 24th minute.
David Beckham levelled the match just before half-time but the Red Devils support remained nervous until Andy Cole replaced Sheringham at the break and had fired the winner within two minutes of the re-start.
Tottenham 3-5 Man United – September 29 2001
Champions United arrived in north London on the back of an impressive 4-0 win over Ipswich and while many expected goals from this meeting few anticpated the hosts racing into a 3-0 lead.
Goals from Dean Richards, Sir Les and Christian Ziege had Spurs fans rocking and legend has it one punter staked £10,000 on a home win at odds-on in the hope of earning a quick, guaranteed buck.
It’s hard to know who would have felt worse at the final whistle, the bettor or the Spurs players, as Cole, Laurent Blanc, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastian-Veron and Beckham combined to avenge the previous season’s 3-1 defeat in historic fashion.
Man United 4-0 Tottenham – March 6 2002
The humiliating nature of the above defeat ensured Spurs were fired up for the return fixture but while both sides picked up three bookings in an ill-tempered affair it was Mauricio Taricco’s 42nd-minute dismissal that ended the game as a contest.
The hosts were already 1-0 up courtesy of a Beckham strike but when Van Nistelrooy converted the spot kick resulting from Taricco’s red card it was game over. Beckham secured a brace with a 64th-minute strike and the Dutchman matched his antics 12 minutes later to compound Spurs’ misery.
Man United 5-2 Tottenham – April 25 2009
When Darren Bent and Luka Modric combined to give Spurs a 2-0 lead in just half an hour at Old Trafford Tottenham fans were hoping to be a thorn in the side that would go on to claim a third straight league title.
However, lightning struck twice as Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov played at their devastating best to smash five second half goals to place another Tottenham clash firmly in the United history books.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
