By Michael John Oliver
Welcome in to 3News.co.nz’s video live update of tonight’s EPL clash between the Tottenham and Manchester United from White Hart Lane.
We’ll keep you up to speed with the latest action from the match, including rolling video highlights as the match progresses.
Keep an eye out for the VIDEO UP tag, that’ll let you know that we’ve updated the updated the video with the latest highlights.
LIVE SCORE: Tottenham 1 - 3 Manchester United
Full time - Welbeck kicks it out of a Modric corner, and that's the game. Manchester United have killed any tiny hope Spurs had of winning the premiership, and deservedly so. 3-1 winners. VIDEO UP of Defoe's consolation goal for Tottenham. That's all the video up, and that's all there is to it.
91 mins - Adebayor gets the ball into the box, but is shut down by three Man United defenders.
90 mins - Three minutes of added time, as the game peters out to its inevitable conclusion.
86 mins - GOAL TOTTENHAM! A consolation goal for Jermaine Defoe. Too little too late for Spurs. 3-1 Man United.
85 mins - White Hart Lane is starting to empty. The game has died as a spectacle though, and it was over for Tottenham long before now.
83 mins - Passes going astray for Tottenham, as Aaron Lennon comes off for Danny Rose.
81 mins - Quite a scrappy game in the mid-field now. Manchester United are running out the clock, and Spurs can't seem to get anything going at all.
78 mins - VIDEO UP now of Ashley Young's second goal. Nani's day is over, replaced by Ji-Sung Park, and Kranjcar is on for Sandro for Spurs.
76 mins - Man U are running free and easy through the Spurs' defence. Both Nani and Rooney have acres of space to move in.
74 mins - Free kick to Tottenham, after Rooney gives Louis Saha a wee shove in the back.
71 mins - VIDEO UP - Ashley Young's first goal is up, with his second on its way. Manchester United have hit top gear - they're first to everything now, piling pressure on the Spurs defence. Tottenham are in state of shock.
68 mins - GOAL MANCHESTER UNITED! Ashey Young with a spectacular strike off his right foot that curls into the top right hand corner of the Spurs goal. England's champion is a hero for Manchester United. 3-0 they lead. Tottenham have absolutely no idea what's hit them.
66 mins - Assou-Ekotto fires a shot right at De Gea. Believe it or not, Spurs continue to dominate possession.
63 mins - This just hasn't been Tottenham's day, but champion teams take their opportunities, and by hook or by crook that's what Man U have done. Modric has a free kick outside the Man U box, but it has too much on it.
60 mins - GOAL MANCHESTER UNITED! The visitors steal another one, super finish by Ashley Young. Spurs' defence was at sixes and sevens at the back, and it's come up trumps for United. 2-0 they lead.
58 mins - Oooh, another close shave for Manchester United. Benoit Assou-Ekotto's free kick skims the top of the goal. He can't believe how close it was. VIDEO UP of Livermore's shot on goal.
56 mins - Sandro and Lennon combine to put Man U on the back foot right in front of goal. Modric takes a corner, but the visitors manage to steer it clear.
54 mins - Phil Jones collides with Modric in mid-field. The Man U medics want to check him out, but Jones flags them away. Some real feeling starting to come into the game now.
51 mins - Spurs pressing hard in the United half. Livermore takes a shot on goal, which gets deflected off Adebayor and only a super save from De Gea keeps it out. Redknapp is livid on the sideline.
48 mins - Free kick to Tottenham after Jones climbs all over Adebayor. The Spurs faithful cheer ironically for a decision in their favour.
46 mins - Tottenham get the second half underway. They haven't lost at home this season since their first game against Manchester Cit back in August 2011.
Half time - A tight first 45 minutes, and the Spurs fans are not impressed with the late goal by Rooney. Spurs haven't played poorly either, but go into the sheds 1-0 down. VIDEO UP of Rooney's lucky goal for Man U.
45 mins - GOAL MANCHESTER UNITED! In the last corner of the first half, Rooney gets his head on the end of it. Training field stuff. 1-0 Man U.
43 mins - Sandro receives a yellow card for a late tackle on Ashely Young.
41 mins - VIDEO UP of Adebayor's disallowed goal. A wayward challenge on Sandro by Rooney earns the home side a free kick.
39 mins - Some nice touches in mid-field by Tottenham. Jake Livermore makes a sweet pass to Saha, who flicks it through to Adebayor... and would you believe it, he's called for hand ball again.
36 mins - Oooh, Spurs unlucky! Adebayor looks to have scored, but the ball quite clearly touches his hand on its way in.
34 mins - Benoit Assou-Ekotto floats a ball wide in front of goal, but neither Saha or Adebayor are interested in chasing it.
32 mins - Sent into the area again by Modric, but Adebayor can't capitalise on it.
29 mins - Kaboul's free kick comes off the wall, and it's a corner. Modric's corner is well taken care of, but he gets a second chance when the ball comes back to him. It looks good, but Rooney makes the save.
27 mins - Yellow card for Phil Jones for bringing down Louis Saha. Spurs get a free kick just outside the box.
25 mins - More cautious play from Man U, as the rain begins to fall quite heavily.
22 mins - Messy stuff at the back for Man U, no real ball control in the box. Tottenham unlucky no to score from that. VIDEO UP of Adebayor's early shot on goal.
20 mins - Spurs have been living in the Man U half for the past few minutes, until Rooney makes an incision into Spurs territory, but it's well-read by the home side.
18 mins - A lazy clearance from Man U is picked off by Sandro. He heads it to Adebayor, whose shot is a real threat on goal. It's picked off for a corner, but Younes Kaboul's header is well wide.
15 mins - Modric and Saha enjoying plenty of ball, but not much result. Saha has a half-hearted shot on goal, bu it's picked off pretty handily.
13 mins - Now it's Spurs holding possession. Man U's defence has been pretty tight so far.
10 mins - VIDEO UP of Adebayor's early shot for Tottenham. Man U pushing the ball forward inside Spurs' territory. Both sides still getting a read on each other in these early stages.
8 mins - Nani has a great run for Man U, and passes in to Rooney, whose shot is picked up by Brad Friedel in goal for Spurs. He passes it to Aaron Lennon, who gets up a good head of steam, but is stopped in his tracks mid-field.
6 mins - Adebayor has a shot on goal, but it sails over the top of the crossbar.
5 mins - Welbeck finds himself in some space, and takes a wild shot at goal. It's not even close.
4 mins - Nice first up touch by Louis Saha, but doesn't trouble De Gea with his shot.
2 mins - Jones and Assou-Ekoto collide in the Spurs half, with Assou-Ekoto twisting his leg around. Both stay down for a few moments, but they both seem okay.
Kick off - And we're underway at White Hart Lane. VIDEO UP of the two teams emerging onto the field.
2 mins to kick off - Gareth Bale is missing from the Spurs line up after picking up a stomach bug overnight. Wayne Rooney's return to the Manchester United line up will be more than welcome for the defending champions.
5 mins to kick off - Cold, rainy conditions at White Hart Lane this afternoon, as the two teams are about to emerge.
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Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has predicted that Sunday's Premier League match at Tottenham is his title-chasing team's hardest game in the buildup to next month's clash with leader and local rival Manchester City.
History says otherwise.
United is unbeaten in 25 meetings with Tottenham stretching back to a meaningless end-of-season match in May 2001, and the defending champions will have Wayne Rooney back in action after the England striker missed two games because of a throat infection.
Third-place Tottenham is also coming off a 5-2 loss at Arsenal and will be without suspended midfielder Scott Parker, but Ferguson still expects a stiff challenge.
"It's always a tremendous game given the history of both clubs," Ferguson said. "It's a very important game for us. Look at the rest of the season. You can certainly say we're building up to what could turn out to be a title decider with Manchester City.
"This is our hardest away game, no doubt. Hopefully we can navigate it."
Parker's absence could hit Spurs hard, though. The midfielder has won the club's player of the month award in four of the five months since joining in August.
"It's a blow for us. Scotty's been in great form," Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said. "But we've got Sandro and Jake Livermore and it's a chance for them to step up to the plate and do the job."
United has had little trouble doing that at White Hart Lane since Willem Korsten scored twice to lead Tottenham to a 3-1 win over a side that had already won the 2000-01 Premier League title.
Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes both played in that match and could make an appearance Sunday, with Giggs having marked his 900th match for United with the winning goal in last weekend's 2-1 win at Norwich - keeping United two points behind City.
United could be without Chris Smalling after the defender was carried off with a head injury in England's midweek friendly against the Netherlands.
With Antonio Valencia and Tom Cleverley on the sidelines, Michael Carrick is almost certain to start in midfield against his former club.
"Michael's form for quite a while has been absolutely superb," Ferguson said. "I know he disagrees with me on this but I feel the second half of the season sees him at his best and he's doing well so it's pleasing.
"It's quite refreshing in the modern game to have players who can rely on their ability rather than wanting to project themselves."
Tottenham's hopes of winning the English championship for the first time since 1961 effectively ended at Arsenal and another defeat - just a fourth in 25 matches - could leave the team 13 points behind City if the leader beats visiting Bolton as expected.
Redknapp hopes at least to have Rafa van der Vaart, Gareth Bale, Kyle Walker and Ledley King available following concerns over their fitness.
3 News/ AP
source: newshub archive
