Young Savours Tough Win

Ashley Young has praised Manchester United’s ability to win games without playing particularly well after the Reds beat Tottenham Hotspur in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday.

Home side Spurs dominated possession and territory for much of the game but ultimately finished with nothing to show for their efforts after Sir Alex’s men snatched victory with a fine display of clinical finishing.

After scoring two goals and setting up Wayne Rooney for the other, Young stated his belief that the Reds are resilient enough to secure three points from whatever situation, however unlikely it seems.

“As long as we stay as a team and a solid unit, which we did out there, then we know we can get a goal,” Young said. “We nicked one in the first half and then came out and got another two. We weren't at our best in the first half, but we went 1-0 up and went on the front foot in the second half.

“All of the players knew that we weren’t playing to our full potential. We had to show it in the second half and we did well to get the two goals and the three points. We felt comfortable when the second goal went in. We just wanted to go on and we knew we could get more goals. We knew if we kept on working hard then we’ll get a third and we did that.”

United's success in North London closes the gap on leaders Manchester City to two points ahead of a promising run of fixtures - in all of the next seven games, the champions will face teams from the bottom half of the table.

But while many fans and pundits are looking ahead to a potential title showdown at the Etihad Stadium on 30 April, Young is keen to play down the derby's significance for now and instead focus on a positive result against Spurs.

“We are taking each game as it comes. We knew it was going to be a tough game here at Tottenham and we are just happy to get the three points.”