Manchester United 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur: Spurs party like it's 1989

Andre Villas-Boas showed that he can slug it out with Sir Alex Ferguson – and emerge a winner. Tottenham’s new boss twice felt the full force of Ferguson’s all-out attacking philosophy last season as his first taste of Premier League management was brought to a premature end after less than eight months at Chelsea. But last night, the 34-year-old Portuguese showed the old master he is back with a vengeance. Goals by Jan Vertonghen, Gareth Bale and Clint Dempsey gave Spurs their first victory on United soil since 1989 when Terry Venables’ men won with a Gary Lineker goal. Villas-Boas’ men were magnificent going forward, but had to withstand a furious United onslaught that brought goals for Nani and Shinji Kagawa. Just over a year ago Villas-Boas’s first visit to Old Trafford ended in Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat. Four months later, he was given another painful lesson when United fought back from 3-0 down to take a point from Stamford Bridge – which marked the beginning of the end for him under Roman Abramovich. At times it was like deja vu for Villas-Boas as he paced the touchline in torment while United pressed for parity. Spurs, who had not beaten United at Old Trafford in 20 previous Premier League meetings, losing 17 of those and conceding 42 goals in the process, were irresistible in the first half, scoring twice with pass-and-move classics. There may have been an element of good fortune with Vertonghen’s second-minute opener, the Dutchman’s shot beating Anders Lindegaard with the help of a huge deflection off Jonny Evans’ hand.