Despite conceding a goal in the first minute Manchester United rallied back through Giggs and Anderson (yes, Anderson!) to make it 2-1 at half-time. A second yellow to Paul Scholes put their position under pressure but some smart defensive work and a superb goal (all the goals in this game were quite good) by Wayne Rooney meant that United took the three points – and set up next week’s Manchester derby quite nicely.

At the end of it, it seemed that Tottenham were down to 10 men, not United, and if it hadn’t been for Cudicini’s excellent goalkeeping Spurs could have been even further behind.

Rob Smyth (on Guardian’s MBM): It’s a reflection of where both sides are that this game is more about Spurs than United. It has the feel of an uprising, and it should be a cracker.

On today’s evidence, the ‘uprising’ has been regally squashed this year. The season’s no where near over, but if Spurs can’t win against a midfield of Scholes, Anderson, Giggs and Fletcher, they’ve still got problems to sort out.

Tottenham 1-0 Manchester United – Defoe

Tottenham 1-1 Manchester United – Giggs

Tottenham 1-2 Manchester United – Anderson

Tottenham 1-3 Manchester United – Rooney