Tottenham crush Manchester United with three second-half goals

Dele Alli

Tottenham Hotspur maintained their Premier League title challenge with a thumping victory over Manchester United on Sunday

Having seen Leicester beat Sunderland earlier, Tottenham scored three goals in six second-half minutes to stay seven points behind the Foxes.

Man of the Match, Dele Alli, slotted in from inside the area and Toby Alderweireld headed home, before Erik Lamela’s sweet strike.

Anthony Martial drove straight at Hugo Lloris after a weaving run, to register the away side’s only shot on target.

Kick-off was delayed by half an hour as the United team bus was stuck in London traffic en route to White Hart Lane.

And they barely provided a threat in the match, taking until the 62nd minute to test goalkeeper Lloris and capitulating in the second period.

Spurs had not beaten their opponents at home since 2001, a run of 14 games, while manager Mauricio Pochettino was winless in six previous games against United.

But the home side ended that sequence with a stunning passage of attacking play to stay second in the table and in touch with leaders Leicester.

There was concern among the home fans as the deadlock lasted for 70 minutes, before Alli – who turns 20 on Monday – latched on to Christian Eriksen’s pass for the opener.

Four minutes later, Alderweireld looped in a header to calm the nerves, and Argentine Lamela, who missed a header from six yards out in the first half, stroked in his 10th goal of the season.

Tottenham, who have conceded the fewest goals in the league this season (25), still need help from leaders Leicester if they are to clinch their first league title since 1961, but this deserved victory keeps their title bid alive.

Defeat means the Red Devils face a struggle to finish in the Champions League places at the end of the season, slipping four points behind rivals Manchester City, who currently occupy the crucial fourth place.