Stat watch | 49 not out for Ange and 'Little Sonny's' impact | Spurs 2-0 Man Utd

We marked Ange Postecoglou's first Premier League home match in charge with an impressive 2-0 win over Manchester United on Saturday evening.

A superb second-half display earned us three points as Pape Matar Sarr’s maiden Spurs goal and a Lisandro Martinez own goal both after the break helped us continue our unbeaten start to the 2023/24 campaign.

Here are a few of the best stats from our excellent win over the Red Devils…

A first at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

As ‘Welcome to N17’ was unveiled in the South Stand prior to kick-off, the expectant Spurs fans witnessed history as we achieved something not seen before at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: a Premier League win over Manchester United.

It was the fifth time we’d faced the Manchester club since we moved into our stadium in November, 2019 with two draws and two losses prior, having drawn 2-2 last time out in April with Ryan Mason in temporary charge.

Saturday’s victory over the Red Devils was our first at home since we won by the same margin in January, 2018 at Wembley Stadium and our first victory since our 6-1 win at Old Trafford in October, 2020.

Watch - Our maiden victory over United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Sarr Man

Affectionately nicknamed ‘Little Sonny’ by Club captain Heung-Min Son for his happy and energetic persona, Pape Matar Sarr had a memorable afternoon as he opened his account in Lilywhite to break the deadlock four minutes after half-time.

In doing so, at 20 years and 339 days old the Senegal international became the youngest player to score for us in the Premier League since Juan Foyth in November, 2018 (20 years, 302 days). He was also our third player to notch his first league goal against the Red Devils after Dean Richards and Clint Dempsey.

On Saturday evening, Pape scored his first goal with his fourth shot of the match – more attempts than he’d managed in his previous 12 top-flight appearances combined – to show his attacking progression in Ange’s new system.

A deserved Player of the Match performance from our Sarr man.

Watch - Pape's superb display against United

Ange’s home record

As Head Coach Ange Postecoglou walked out to a rousing reception in N17, the electric atmosphere set the tone for a famous 2-0 win in the Australian’s first competitive home match at the helm.

When it comes to home games, Ange seemingly knows how to create a fortress and our recent win has extended his unbeaten run to 49 home league games spanning spells with Yokohama F. Marinos and Celtic and now us (W41 D8). The last time he lost at home was with Japanese side Yokohama against Kashima Antlers in the J1 League in November, 2020.

Some reception for our Head Coach 🤍 pic.twitter.com/iix0yfggTK

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 19, 2023

Ange-ball

When Ange was named as Head Coach earlier this summer, the appointment signalled a change of philosophy towards a possession-based and front-foot style that his previous sides had displayed in abundance.

With his ideas still in their infancy as our squad gets used to a new style of play, the early signs in the statistics give reasons to be optimistic as we made an average of 322 successful passes in the opposition’s half across our first two games this season – a significant increase from 170 per-game average last term.

In our opening day 2-2 at Brentford, we registered 69.6 per cent possession and completed 638 passes in Ange’s first competitive game in charge - since 2003/04 only one side has completed more passes in their managers first game at the helm (Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea side made 832 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the German's first league game in January, 2021) - and then asserted our passing game on a United side who finished third last term with 55.7 per cent possession and completing 502 passes at an 85 per cent pass success rate.

Watch - Ange's post-match after United

Brilliant Bissouma

Our number eight has started the season in fine form and is thriving at the heart of our midfield under Ange.

Following his Player of the Match performance in the Gtech Community Stadium against a resolute Brentford defence, Yves put in another assured display on the ball against Manchester United, but what was even more impressive were his defensive actions to stifle the opposition’s attacks.

Alongside his possession stats where he had 74 touches, drew the most fouls (three) and made 51 passes at 88 per cent accuracy, the Mali international won the most duels (10) and 100 per cent of aerial duels, made five tackles, three clearances and won back possession six times in a complete midfield performance to scoop a consecutive Player of the Match award.

Breaking up play and finding teammates 💪

Brought to you by Yves Bissouma 🎬 pic.twitter.com/cUOUQhnXyu

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 21, 2023

Watch - Bissouma's backheel and nutmeg against United