James Maddison returned from injury and helped Tottenham beat Manchester United 1-0 on Sunday
Tottenham Hotspur made it back-to-back Premier League wins on Sunday for the first time this season by beating Manchester United 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It has been a long old wait for the fans, but Spurs finally got back to winning ways on their home turf on Sunday evening. Before this fixture, the last time they tasted league success at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was back at the start of November—a 4-1 smashing of Unai Emery’s Aston Villa.
Ange Postecoglou faced several selection dilemmas ahead of the fixture, with five players returning from injury. One of them was James Maddison, whose first-half strike from close range turned out to be the difference between the two sides on Sunday night.
Heading into the contest against Man United, James Maddison came under heavy criticism. Former Man United skipper turned pundit Roy Keane lambasted the creative midfielder after Ian Wright suggested on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast that his return could help Spurs get back to their best.
Maddison marked his return from a calf injury with a goal against the Red Devils—a side he had failed to score against in his career. During his celebration, the 28-year-old was seen making “shush” hand gestures, perhaps responding to Keane’s open criticism last week.
Speaking on Sky Sports (h/t BBC Sport), the Spurs star elaborated on his celebration after the game:
“It’s always difficult being out injured. You miss one game or 10, you are always champing at the bit to get back. I went into the game today knowing I can be the difference.
“I’m really proud of the boys, obviously it has been an up and down season, we are not where we want to be in the league table. I’m really happy for the lads and for the fans, we’re sending them home happy.
“I’ve always been a goalscoring midfielder. That’s why Spurs brought me to the club. I’m there to be that creative outlet and score goals.
“There was a little bit of outside noise this week. People will have their opinions. Nobody is more critical of me than myself. The gaffer prefers when we are in our own bubble but it’s difficult with social media, you see this stuff.”
Tottenham have lacked a creative spark in recent weeks, with Maddison on the sidelines and Dejan Kulusevski looking completely exhausted. This resulted in a lack of chance creation and scoring of goals. On Sunday, though, Maddison ran the show from the middle of the park, dominating possession, pulling the strings, creating chances in the final third and also scoring the only goal of the game before being substituted in the 64th minute.
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The England international’s “shush” celebration after scoring the goal was perhaps aimed at Keane and rightly so. However, Maddison, who has not been a regular starter under Postecoglou this season, now needs to bring more consistency to his game to silence his naysayers including Keane.
With a full week there to train before the next game on Saturday away at Ipswich Town, Maddison should get more time to work on his fitness levels. Revenge will be on the minds of Maddison and Co. when Tottenham travel to Ipswich after they shocked us 2-1 at home back in November.
