It was a typical Red Devils performance on Sunday. Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, many have described Manchester United as a defensive team, who work on the basis that they are likely to win most of their games if they keep clean sheets.

Now that Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand are both fit, it appears as though the opposition will be struggling to score against the Premier League leaders, especially if Tottenham are unable to manage it.

Sir Alex Ferguson is naturally pleased by his team’s defending, even if they seemed pretty toothless against Spurs, with the Scot full of praise for the central defensive partnership.

“We defended very well, they never gave us any trouble with their attacking,” he said.

“The kind of pressure we were under were just long balls into the box really. With [Rio] Ferdinand and [Nemanja] Vidic as your centre-backs you know you can cope with that. They were fantastic. The whole back four did really, really well. In the context of Tottenham’s home record this season and the performances they have given, we have got to take it as a good point for us.”

Manchester United are now 10/11 best odds to win the Premier League with bookmakers Victor Chandler and Stan James.