Kyle Walker is benched for the big finale

It has become fairly easy to predict who will start at right-back for Tottenham – Walker and Kieran Trippier have played alternate games for the last 12 matches, going back to early March.

It was therefore relatively unsurprising that Trippier got the nod today. But the feeling remains that the 26-year-old has been picked for the most important matches in the last few weeks – the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea, the north London derby and now the last ever match at White Hart Lane, against Manchester United.

READ MORE: Tottenham end White Hart Lane era with victory over Manchester United

AS IT HAPPENED: Tottenham host Manchester United for the final time at White Hart Lane

Meanwhile, Walker has been selected for the less glamorous trips to Crystal Palace and West Ham, who both lie in the bottom half of the table.

Out of the final three matches, this is surely the one he would have wanted to start, having been at the club for eight years. Instead, he had to watch most of the match from the bench.

It may be that Mauricio Pochettino feels Trippier is in better form at the moment, but the ex-Burnley man was at fault when United scored their second-half goal, being beaten too easily by Anthony Martial.

That remains the big concern with Tripper – whether he is up to the task defensively against the best clubs and players.

Pochettino was eventually forced to introduce Walker in his place due to injury – Trippier suffered a nasty fall in the second half – but he may have been considering the change anyway.

The latest evidence suggests Spurs should be wary of selling Walker, but Manchester City will surely still feel they have a decent chance of signing him.

Pochettino sticks with 4-2-3-1 despite his problems at Old Trafford, but Eric Dier’s role is key

While Spurs’ manager had occasionally used wing-backs before December’s trip to Manchester United, that 1-0 loss seemed to be the moment when he decided to use the system more regularly.

Tottenham used their habitual 4-2-3-1 formation at Old Trafford but Jose Mourinho nullified the visitors’ dangerous full-backs, consequently denying the Lilywhites much of their width in the final third and rendering them rather toothless.

Three days later, against Hull, Pochettino set his team up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, enabling Walker and Danny Rose to play higher up the pitch.

READ MORE: Mourinho – United don’t have the strength in depth to compete

That formation has become increasingly familiar ever since and, for a while, it was the manager’s preferred set-up. But there has been another change in the last month.

The 3-4-2-1 system did not work at Burnley, in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea or at Crystal Palace. In the first and third cases it took a half-time switch to 4-2-3-1, and the addition of a third attacking midfielder, to win the game.

Pochettino has now stuck with that set-up in the last three matches, against Arsenal, West Ham and even United, despite the tactical problems he encountered in the reverse fixture.

The major difference between the trip to Old Trafford and today’s game was the presence of Eric Dier, who was an unused substitute in December but has started every league match since.

The 23-year-old was primarily playing in midfield alongside Victor Wanyama this afternoon, but he regularly dropped into a deeper position alongside Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen.

In the opening minutes he was frequently stationed on the right side of a back three, and there were a few occasions in the first half when he was the deepest-lying player.

That flexibility and security allowed the full-backs to push forward, and one of Pochettino’s first commands after kick-off was an instruction to Trippier to be more ambitious.

Wanyama gives Spurs the perfect start

There was something of a carnival atmosphere around White Hart Lane in the early afternoon, and it was easy to forget there was a match to be played.

Indeed, one fellow reporter did forget and questioned why one man standing outside the gates was wearing a Manchester United shirt.

Yet there was still a job to be done and, eventually, it fell to Tottenham’s players to give White Hart Lane the perfect send-off.

Any fears about the weight of the occasion and the resulting pressure quickly dissipated as Spurs made the perfect start, going ahead inside five minutes as Wanyama headed home from Ben Davies’ cross.

There was a certain circularity to the goal – the Kenyan also scored Tottenham’s first goal at the Lane this season, netting the winner in the 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace in August.

…But it’s Harry Kane who appropriately scores the decisive goal

The big farewell was going according to the script, apart from one little detail.

While Wanyama has undoubtedly been a key man this season, he only joined the club last summer. It felt that someone else deserved the honour of scoring the last ever goal at Tottenham’s 118-year-old stadium. A boyhood fan, perhaps. Maybe even someone who had come through the club’s academy. Someone like… Kane.

His moment duly arrived three minutes after the interval as he stuck out a leg to deflect a devilish free kick from Christian Eriksen – who has deservedly been named Spurs’ Player of the Season – past David De Gea.

It was Kane’s first goal against Man United and it took him two goals behind Romelu Lukaku in the race for the Premier League golden boot. But neither of those details will mean as much to the homegrown hero as a slice of history that will outlive him.

He will rue the fact that Wayne Rooney struck after him, stealing a place in the record books as the last ever goalscorer at the Lane with a meaningless consolation goal, but Kane can still say proudly that he scored the winner on this memorable day.

The Lilywhites bid farewell in style – and even get a rainbow

Spurs have now completed their final season at the Lane without a single defeat at the stadium in all competitions.

The last time they achieved that feat in the league was in 1964/65 and this was also their 14th home win in a row in the league, equalling a club record set in 1987. Meanwhile, Pochettino’s side have wrapped up second place – their best ever finish in the Premier League era.

In truth, the celebrations had begun long before. The crowd was almost painfully loud from the start of the match and, after Wanyama’s opening goal, Spurs’ fans gleefully went through their song book, singing the names of a long string of legends including Teddy Sheringham, Ledley King, Jermain Defoe and Rafael van der Vaart, along with the current stars.

Chas and Dave were interviewed at half time, but what transpired at the final whistle was not on the schedule – there was a mass pitch invasion, and Mousa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen and Kane had to be rescued from the field by stewards and helped down the tunnel.

It delayed the planned festivities by a good 15 minutes, and those in the stands eventually sang “get off the pitch”.

But the ceremony was worth the wait. Kenneth Branagh provided the voice-over for a video telling the story of White Hart Lane and a choir led the supporters in an emotional rendition of “When the Spurs Go Marching In”.

A succession of former Tottenham greats processed onto the pitch, being given umbrellas to guard them against the rain that was now pouring down, and were then joined by Pochettino and his squad.

The heavy shower seemed to be somewhat unfortunate, but in the end it provided a remarkable moment, right at the climax of the proceedings, as a rainbow shone over the stadium. Those images, like the memories, will live on.