United rescued by Nani

With United looking set for a point at best from their pulsating tussle with crisis club Tottenham, Nani repaid the first portion of his huge transfer fee, belting a sensational winner past Paul Robinson from 30 yards.

It allowed Sir Alex Ferguson's men to register their first win of the season, and prevented them making their worst start since the year Ron Atkinson was sacked.

But it was tough luck on Spurs who put a week of off-field problems behind them to battle manfully throughout, producing a stirring display for their under-fire manager Martin Jol.

And they also had what they thought was a stonewall penalty claim turned down shortly before Nani's decisive strike.

When the Spurs side view the incident again on TV, they will see Dimitar Berbatov's shot blasted against Wes Brown's chest after the striker had received a fortunate bounce of the ball in a challenge with Edwin van der Sar.

At the time though, the striker felt the spot-kick award was certain and he led a posse of visiting players around referee Howard Webb.

Just prior to that, Berbatov must have thought he had opened the scoring when he rose first after a tangle with Nemanja Vidic, then prodded a shot through Van der Sar's legs, only for Rio Ferdinand to boot clear from virtually on his own line.

The full scale of those incidents going against Tottenham became apparent on United's next attack as Nani collected a loose ball 30 yards out, turned towards the visitors goal, then unleashed a magnificent shot which appeared to flick off Tevez before it flew in.