90min

X reacts as Tottenham batter dire Man Utd

  • Tottenham inflicted painful defeat upon woeful Manchester United on Sunday afternoon
  • Bruno Fernandes sent off for the visitors at end of first half
  • Questions bound to re-emerge over Erik ten Hag's future

By James Cormack

Johnson and Kulusevski were on the scoresheet
Johnson and Kulusevski were on the scoresheet / Michael Regan/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit

Tottenham produced an outstanding performance to down Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon, and questions will once again re-emerge over Erik ten Hag's future.

The visitors were dealt a blow ahead of kick-off as it was revealed that captain Son Heung-min hadn't made the trip to Manchester with a hamstring injury sustained on Thursday, meaning Timo Werner was included in Ange Postecoglou's starting XI.

Manuel Ugarte made his first Premier League start for Erik ten Hag's Red Devils.

There was a sense pre-match that goals may well be on the menu at the Theatre of Dreams, and it took Spurs just a couple of minutes to break the deadlock. Brennan Johnson continued his impressive scoring streak, but his close-range effort was made possible by an utterly ridiculous Micky van de Ven run.

Tottenham were excellent in the opening exchanges, but they were aided by a Man Utd side that struggled to string a sequence of passes together nor looked willing to win possession back high up the pitch.

Ugarte, meanwhile, was getting run ragged by James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski between the lines.

United's first big moment arrived when Joshua Zirkzee had an effort well-saved by Guglielmo Vicario, but that chance came while Spurs were down to ten with Destiny Udogie off the pitch having received treatment. Before Zirkzee's chance, Johnson was denied by the post following another slick Lilywhite move.

"It really is bad," was Gary Neville's downbeat assessment of United's performance at the 30-minute mark, with the hosts succumbing to wave after wave of Spurs attacks. Ten Hag's side, for the umpteenth time, looked completely lost and bereft of inspiration with and without the ball.

And while a sympathetic Werner kept the score at 1-0 by hitting a tame effort at Andre Onana after breezing in behind, Ten Hag's woes were compounded by Bruno Fernandes' dismissal just before half-time for a high lunge on Maddison.

Spurs supporters would've been theorising at half-time as to how Postecoglou's side could blow a game that was overwhelmingly in their favour, but those fears were quickly eased after the restart as Kulusevski cleverly doubled their lead.

The clouds darkened over Old Trafford as the contest progressed with Tottenham firmly in control, but the United faithful, despite surely being left aghast by what they'd been forced to endure, made an admirable attempt to facilitate some inspiration. There was an upsurge, but chances continued to arrive for Spurs and it was the wonderful Kulusevski often at the heart of their forward play.

United briefly threatened a resurgence and Casemiro did come close, but a Tottenham triple change immediately brought about a third goal. Lucas Bergvall took the corner from which Dominic Solanke poked home after Pape Matar Sarr's flick.

The visitors sauntered in the aftermath as the rain poured, and while the United fans that remained refused to turn on their manager, questions will undoubtedly be asked on Ten Hag once more given the level of the Red Devils' performance.

READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, RUMOURS & GOSSIP

feed

Home/Premier League