James Maddison happy to silence critics with winner against Man Utd

The midfielder marked his return from injury with an early strike, his ninth of the league campaign, and although there were numerous opportunities for both teams, particularly in the second half, it stood as the only goal of the match.

The victory saw Spurs record back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since September, offering some relief to manager Ange Postecoglou, whose future had been under scrutiny. Despite the win Spurs remain in the bottom half of the table, sitting in 12th spot on 30 points after 25 games.

Matchwinner Madison admitted after the final whistle it is a relief to have silenced the critics somewhat, saying "there was a little bit of outside noise this week.

"People will have their opinions, but I wanted to do my talking on the pitch. I hope there is a certain few that enjoyed me being the match-winner today.

"Nobody is more critical of myself than me," he added.

"To be fair to the gaffer, he always talks about blocking out the outside noise, but sometimes it's difficult, you know. It's constantly in your face, social media and WhatsApp."

For United, the defeat marked their 12th loss in 25 league games this season, continuing a difficult campaign under manager Ruben Amorim. They currently sit in 15th place and the Portuguese has now lost eight of his 14 matches in charge.

This defeat means United have suffered 12 losses in their first 25 games of a league season for the first time since 1973-74. Though they seem far enough from relegation, the mood at Old Trafford is growing increasingly gloomy.

Tottenham began the match with intensity, pressing forward and dominating the early stages. However, United soon responded with a series of quick-fire chances. Spurs goalkeeper Vicario was forced into two crucial saves to deny Rasmus Hojlund and then Alejandro Garnacho's curling effort. Ben Davies also cleared the ball off the line when Diogo Dalot followed up on the rebound.

It took just 13 minutes for Spurs to find the breakthrough. Heung-Min Son played a cross into the box that deflected off Noussair Mazraoui and fell to Lucas Bergvall. His shot was saved by Andre Onana, but Maddison was quick to pounce on the rebound, firing it into the net.

United nearly responded 10 minutes later when Bruno Fernandes played a ball through to Garnacho inside the box, but the winger fired over from 15 yards. At the other end, Maddison picked out Son, who laid the ball back to Mathys Tel - making his Premier League debut - but Onana made a smart save diving to his right. The remainder of the half saw both teams evenly matched, but the score remained 1-0 at the break.

The second half began much like the first, with Tottenham asserting themselves early. Tel had two opportunities to double the lead, but his first shot was easily saved by Onana and his second drifted wide. United struggled to create clear chances, but in the 56th minute, Joshua Zirkzee found Garnacho through on goal. Vicario made a crucial save to deny him, and moments later, he produced another brilliant save to keep out a snap shot from the Argentine.

Spurs regained the initiative, with Tel and Son having efforts blocked before Djed Spence fired a powerful shot from distance that Onana saved. The match remained end-to-end as United pressed for an equalizer. Zirkzee narrowly missed a Fernandes cross, and Hojlund had his low shot saved by Vicario.

The final stages of the match felt almost like a cup tie. Onana denied Dejan Kulusevski before Spence made an important block to prevent Hojlund from testing Vicario. With just two minutes left, Casemiro headed a Fernandes corner straight at Vicario, and Tel had two efforts saved by Onana. In the dying moments, Tel found himself through on goal but couldn't find a way past Onana before the referee blew the final whistle, securing Spurs' first league double over United since the 1989/90 season.

Matchwinner Maddison admitted after the final whistle it is a relief to have got some of the critics off his back, saying "there was a little bit of outside noise this week.

"People will have their opinions, but I wanted to do my talking on the pitch. I hope there is a certain few that enjoyed me being the match-winner today.

"Nobody is more critical of myself than me," he added.

"To be fair to the gaffer, he always talks about blocking out the outside noise, but sometimes it's difficult, you know. It's constantly in your face, social media and WhatsApp."

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