Buckling Under the Blizzard: Spurs 1 Manchester United 1

Clint Dempsey clinches the late equalizer for Spurs

Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK

Starting Lineups (Courtesy of Soccerway.com)

Goals of the Game

Tottenham Hotspur: Dempsey (90+2')

Manchester United: van Persie (25')

Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United dropped their overall lead to just five points after his side weathered a blizzard-esque second-half showing from Andre Villas-Boas' Tottenham as an at-the-ultimate-death Clint Dempsey equalizer made sure both sides shared the spoils in a thrilling game amidst a shivering snowstorm at White Hart Lane.

Match officials decided to give the match a go amidst the snow at White Hart Lane

Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK

The Spurs took hold of the ball for the first ten minutes as they dominated possession. Both had half-chances at goal, to no avail. The first clear chance came from Tottenham in the 13th minute as Lennon made a blistering run followed by shot from the right side of the box. De Gea parried the attack unconvincingly with Defoe attempting to do a rebound from the six-yard box. De Gea managed to save the ball, which was deemed offside ex post facto.

The Red Devils responded magnificently as Welbeck made a run of his own from left to center at the edge of the box. He passed to Cleverley, who brilliantly crossed it to RVP. The prolific Dutchman made no mistakes as he headed the ball in at the 25th minute.

Robin van Persie glances a head on the ball to guide it to the back of the net

Image retrieved from the Official Barclays Premier League Twitter Account

Tom Cleverley provides Robin van Persie the assist for the latter's 25th minute goal

Image retrieved from The Telegraph UK

The home side tried to respond with urgency. At the 28th minute, their lone striker Jermaine Defoe's 30-yard screamer almost beat De Gea. The Spaniard keeper loses control of the ball and managed to give Spurs a corner. United would clear. Twelve minutes later, they were at it again as a Bale shot from the edge of box gets parried by De Gea, who went to the ground. Lennon and Parker scrambled to equalize but the United defense blocked each rebound attempt successfully.

Spurs began the second half in breakneck fashion as Defoe took business at the 46th minute with a shot going just wide. United replied with Evra as he made a run at the wing. He passed to Kagawa, who gave it to Welbeck inside the box. The attempt was blocked by Caulker.

From there, just as the snow stormed in came Tottenham's aggressive and fervent search for the equalizer. In the 50th minute, Dempsey beat United's back line but his shot saved by De Gea. Bale's cross at the 63rd minute was cleared but only as far as Dempsey who once again missed. United tried to stage a counter but Welbeck shot wide a cross from Rooney at 67th minute.

But then, the home side just kept on pressing as United did spectacularly in defense. A Defoe attempt was blocked by an astute Ferdinand tackle at the 77th minute; A Bale right-footed screamer from outside the box went just wide at the 80th. A shot from 30 yards was riskily headed away by Ferdinand at the 85th.

Bale launches in the air as his side pressed on for an equalizer

Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK

The Reds' looked spot-on to defend their lead and regain their seven-point advantage at the top of the table when Clint Dempsey, who has been missing his shots all game long, finally got his goal at the 92nd minute as he beat Ferdinand and Vidic to the ball.

At the end of the 90, Tottenham was grateful to split the points as their blizzard attack finally paid off in a Comeback style usually reserved for their rivals. Sir Alex Ferguson, meanwhile, could be assured of his side's defensive capabilities now as United showed great resoluteness but will now have to look over their shoulders as nearest rivals City edge closer with just five points separating the two sides.

Two-Face: Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 3

Clint Dempsey scored the eventual winning goal for Spurs, one of three goals that were sank in less than 3 minutes.

Image retrieved from the Official Tottenham Hotspur Facebook page

Goals of the Game

Manchester United: Nani (51'), Kagawa (53')

Tottenham Hotspur: Vertonghen (2'), Bale (32'), Dempsey (52')

As many have said, it was a sensational, edge-of-your-seat, "game of two halves" at Old Trafford as the Reds tried but failed to fight back from an abysmal performance in the first half with two goals down to taking two back in the second-half, their change of play not enough to salvage any points.

Manchester United started their game at Old Trafford with a dispassionate display, as their defense was quickly dismantled at the two-minute mark, with winger Jay Vertonghen getting in the first goal. Thirty minutes later, Gareth Bale would make a lung-busting 40-yard run to ease past Rio Ferdinand and put his side on a two-goal lead. Needless to say, it'd be very accurate to say the Sir Alex Ferguson was livid at half-time.

Jay Vertonghen (second from right) makes a victory run as he put his side in the lead at the 2-minute mark

Image retrieved from Goal.com

Something happened in half-time, however, that changed the face of the game completely -- most likely, it was the patented Sir Alex Ferguson hairdryer blast. Giggs was replaced by Rooney, who was one of the United players that showered some magic into his side. Immediately, he made an impact, and this inspiration would help United pull a goal back with Nani scoring from the wings at the 51st minute. Spurs were suddenly on the counter-attack, and barely a minute later, Clint Dempsey would ensure that the Spurs had their 2-goal lead back... but wait, there's more! Van Persie, at the 53rd minute would make a cool run past defenders and a fluid pass towards Kagawa who chips the ball into the net. Yes, three goals in three minutes.

Kagawa's goal placed United in a perfect position to get back in the game

Image retrieved from The Telegraph

Unfortunately for the Reds, despite their dominating performance post-Kagawa goal (it was all one-way traffic, really, and the Spurs have pretty much "parked the bus"), it wasn't enough to lodge the North Londoners off the lead and Andre Villas-Boas' side win their first ever Premier League match against Manchester United since 1989.

So what went wrong? It was the whole team in the first half. United's performance at the first half was like their play at Anfield last week: sloppy, dispassionate, empty. It was as if the defense line had disappeared as they allowed Vertonghen and Bale to easily slip past them and score.

And yet, United showed their true grit at second-half, with Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes proving to be the catalysts once again. Scholes' laser-guided passing and Rooney's unrelenting drive moved the team forward, although the side had left too much for themselves to recover.

After an average run in the previous games, Kagawa seemed to have turned a better page. He was abysmal at the start, but proved valuable come the second half, making penetrating passes and scoring a goal.

Rio Ferdinand is showing his age, and the strain on him, especially now with Vidic out, is showing. Evans wasn't much help either, although both recovered and improved in the second half.

In the end, its the scoreline that matters and United, simply put, lost this one. Their second-half showing, while admirable and valiant, should've been their showing since the start of the first whistle. The Reds should know by now that they have to bring their A-game from the beginning of the match, but they didn't, and they have nothing but themselves to blame for that.

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