Spurs see off Manchester United to give Ange Postecoglou a winning start at home

Ange Postecoglou oversaw a thrilling first win as Tottenham manager as Pape Sarr’s strike and a Lisandro Martinez own goal settled a pulsating Premier League clash with Manchester United.

Even by Spurs’ standards this has been a chastening year, with their struggles in the second half of last season compounded by homegrown star Harry Kane’s recent switch to Bayern Munich.

But former Celtic boss Postecoglou has brought new hope to Tottenham and his entertaining, new-look side sealed a fine 2-0 win thanks to Sarr’s effort and a late Martinez own goal.

Ange Postecoglou wins his first home @SpursOfficial match ⚪️#TOTMUN pic.twitter.com/RNvvM6z43b

— Premier League (@premierleague) August 19, 2023

Erik ten Hag’s men – playing under the cloud of continued talk about Mason Greenwood’s future – began on the front foot in north London and could have gone into the break ahead.

United were aggrieved not to have been awarded a penalty after the VAR reviewed a Cristian Romero handball in a half that saw Marcus Rashford and, in particular, Bruno Fernandes waste good chances.

Those let-offs allowed Spurs to grow into proceedings, with Pedro Porro smashing an effort off the bar before Luke Shaw deflected a Sarr cross onto the post just before the break.

Spurs returned with the bit between their teeth and took a 49th minute lead as Sarr reacted quickest to a deflected Dejan Kulusevski cross to score his first goal for the club.

Antony struck the post as the sides traded blows in a thrill-a-minute start to a second period that eventually calmed down, with Martinez’s late own goal wrapping up a home win.

The atmosphere was fantastic throughout as Spurs beat United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time, with Postecoglou