United cash in on Webb error

Man United 5, Tottenham Hotspur 2

AS season-defining moments go, they don’t come any bigger than referee Howard Webb’s decision to award Manchester United a dubious penalty lifeline at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The Reds trailed a buoyant Spurs side 2-0 and were looking devoid of ideas when goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes was adjudged to have brought down the onrushing Michael Carrick following Wayne Rooney’s through ball into the penalty area.

Television replays revealed Gomes had palmed the ball before Carrick was felled, but Webb ruled otherwise and once Cristiano Ronaldo had converted the spot-kick United overwhelmed a Spurs outfit consumed by a justifiable sense of injustice.

Four more goals followed in an exhilarating spell of attacking at speed as United placed one hand on the Premier League trophy.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp had no doubt that Webb’s decision proved pivotal.

“The referee made a terrible mistake,” he said. “It changed the face of the game.

“They (United) weren’t going to win from where they were. It gave them a massive lift and left us deflated.”

What cannot be argued was United’s quality in the final 30 minutes of a pulsating match.

Spurs had dominated the first half in which Luka Modric pulled the strings and Aaron Lennon proved a constant threat wide on the right.

Darren Bent opened the scoring with his 50th Premier League goal and Modric made it two with a far-post finish after more good work by Lennon.

The second-half introduction of Carlos Tevez for Nani had a galvanising effect on United, who gave Spurs much less time to produce their slick passing game.

Once Ronaldo had scored from the spot, the outcome was almost inevitable.

Spurs were terminally wounded, United irresistible in their quest to grab all three points.

Rooney, who had a quiet first half, played like a man possessed, scoring goals two and four and being involved in almost every United attack.

Ronaldo’s headed third goal, from a pinpoint Rooney cross, and Dimitar Berbatov’s bundled-in fifth capped a sensational comeback in which United scored five times in the space of 23 minutes.

The Reds may have been given a helping hand, but they needed no second invitation.

That is what makes them champions and why they will win the Premier League title for the third successive season.