FA Premiership/Tottenham 1 Manchester United 2: Alex Ferguson is struggling to convince even the most ardent Manchester United supporter the title race is still on but at least his team have shown they are willing to prolong the argument.
Ferguson, possibly with his fingers crossed behind his back, was still maintaining United could overhaul Chelsea as he left White Hart Lane but, in reality, Wayne Rooney's two goals have probably just delayed their confirmation as champions until the two teams meet at Stamford Bridge on Saturday week.
The fact is that Rooney's first-half goals may matter more in the long run to Tottenham and their ambitions of reaching the Champions League qualifiers.
Martin Jol's attacking, adventurous team remain four points ahead of Arsenal but have now played a game more and on Saturday face a nerve-shredding renewal of local hostilities at Highbury, where they have lost their last seven games.
Yesterday, their spirited attempts to level the game, after Jermaine Jenas had profited from a lucky ricochet off Rio Ferdinand to score from a corner eight minutes into the second half, failed to find the target.
"I heard an interview with Martin Jol on the radio after Tottenham's game against Everton and he said they were getting Manchester United at a good time," said Ferguson. "I thought to myself, 'oh, really?'" United have won 10 out of their last 11 Premiership games.
Ferguson went on to confuse everyone by stating it was their worst performance in that run, worse even than their inability to score against a Sunderland side dubbed the worst team since the Premiership's formation.
To everyone else it seemed United attacked with verve and vigour, width and penetration, harassing the home defence from the moment, eight minutes in, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy broke from a corner, hared upfield and combined for Rooney to score at the far post.
The difference between Ferguson and Mourinho is Chelsea would have been quite happy to stifle the game. United's modus operandi is to unnerve opponents with the velocity of their attacking. It is not in their nature to sit back on 1-0 leads and for long spells in the first half they mesmerised Tottenham with the speed and fluency of their first-touch, pass-and-move football.
The flip side is United frequently left themselves exposed in defence. At half-time Jol could reflect on at least half a dozen opportunities, the majority of them created on the side Mikael Silvestre was defending.
Spurs, indeed, had two splendid chances to go ahead before Rooney's first goal but their skew-whiff finishing, some last-ditch defending and Edwin van der Sar's goalkeeping kept them out and, when United broke, they did so with pace and penetration.
"The first 20 minutes was the best we have played since I have been manager," said Jol. "We punished ourselves. I may exaggerate a bit but I can't remember a game where we have played so well yet found ourselves 2-0 down."
Paul Stalteri had a particularly harrowing task trying to keep a rein on Ronaldo while Lee Young-Pyo, a right-footed left-back, could barely raise an apologetic arm after Park Ji-Sung took the ball off him inside Tottenham's own penalty area to supply Rooney for the softest of his 19 goals this season. Park, the game's outstanding performer, made it a torrid afternoon for his South Korean international team-mate, even when United opted for a more conservative approach in the second half and Tottenham started to dominate possession.
Ferguson was aggrieved that his side never reached the same exhilarating levels after the interval although he did pay credit to Tottenham. "They had a real go," he said of a Tottenham side for whom Robbie Keane and Aaron Lennon were constant threats. The home side undoubtedly missed the aerial presence of the injured Mido as a succession of high balls were pumped into the penalty area but, in the end, United just about deserved it.
TOTTENHAM: Robinson, Stalteri, Dawson, Davenport, Lee, Lennon (Barnard 78), Jenas, Carrick, Davids (Murphy 71), Keane, Defoe. Subs not used: Naybet, Kelly, Cerny. Booked: Stalteri. Goal: Jenas 53.
MANCHESTER UNITED: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre, Park, O'Shea, Giggs, Ronaldo (Brown 90), Rooney, Van Nistelrooy. Subs not used: Howard, Evra, Heinze, Saha. Booked: Vidic. Goals: Rooney 8, 36.
Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire).
