They tell the world once again how they manage to grab 19 champions.
For the second consecutive game, Manchester United netted three points without putting the 'A' game on show. This is exactly the character that distinguishes between a good team and a title-winning team.
Meanwhile, Tottenham’s dipping form continues, when they failed to convert a dominant display into victory.
There would be no love between the good friends, Alex Ferguson and Harry Redknapp. It was a much needed victory for both sides, when their city rivals had further exerted pressure on Saturday. Manchester United was surely the side with higher confidence, given they haven't lost to Tottenham in the last 21 meetings, including the Roy Carroll crossed-the-line save, and the famous 5-3 second half fightback.
More bad news for Tottenham fans were the absence of both Bale and Van der Vaart, after Harry claimed that both should be fit 24 hours ago. Together with the fact that Parker was suspended, nobody would blame the Tottenham fans to be pessimistic about the game.
But football is more than just team sheet. Sandro and Livermore played with authority, especially the latter, to minimise the impact of the absence of Parker. Although Modric was playing on the less-favourable left wing, Aaron Lennon and Assou-Ekotto were able to maintain the supply from both flanks.
The midfield was too much for Carrick and Scholes to contain. The England pair was far from effective when they didn't enjoy much of the ball possession. Nani and Young provided limited support to the hard-working Rooney and Welbeck.
Tottenham had been the more threatening team throughout, but lapse of concentration momentarily had cost the game. Kyle Walker did not pressurise Rooney in the corner just before interval, which neutralised all the good work in the first half and had also demoralised the team. Modric switched off during a throw-in, allowing Nani to run at his back and indirectly led to Ashley Young's goal.
Manchester United did not do too much, but just capitalised on the only chances they saw tonight.
While the players were still wondering what would have happened should Adebayor's first half goal was not ruled out with an innocent handball, Ashley Young did what he is best at --- curling the ball into the top corner from 25 yards out.
The scoreline is not a true reflection of the game flow. Nevertheless, Manchester United demonstrated their excellent conversion rate, something Kenny Dalglish would envy about. Alex Ferguson would be delighted with the defence, particularly Rio Ferdinand, who was a rock at the back.
In a game they looked destined to lose even before the game whistle, Tottenham delivered a spiritual performance, notably Sandro and Livermore. Harry will still be devastated with the unforgivable mistakes they have committed, especially when Arsenal is quietly reducing the gap between them in the league table.
Harry Redknapp's ability to make game-changing decisions will again be questioned. He refused to take out Saha, who had worked his socks off but appeared to have run out of steam after half way through the second half. With Kranjcar, Dos Santos and Danny Rose on the bench, he decided to retain the midfield formation by leaving Modric on the left rather than in a playmaker role. Surely this is undesirable when they were 0-2 down, and alteration in the 80th minute was not very meaningful. The consolation goal from Defoe represented a desperate shout from the bench to Harry for more playing time, as they are capable to insert some unpredictability to the very predictable lineup developed by Harry.
When both teams have mid-week cup action to commit to, Tottenham will be thinking about playing Toffees next weekend, when they deadly need to avoid three losses in a row to stay in the driving seat of the Champions League qualification race. Manchester United will enjoy their homestand, also hoping Manchester City's travelling miles will make them slip.
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