Tottenham Hotspur ended up comfortable winners at Old Trafford after an abject display from Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United in which the visiting side cut them open again and again.
Micky van de Ven sparked a dominant performance from Spurs with an incredible assist, running from his own half to set up an easy finish for Brennan Johnson, who later hit the post. Bruno Fernandes was then shown a straight red card just before half-time for a foul on James Maddison. The United captain slipped on his way towards the Spurs midfielder, but then swiped high at Maddison’s leg and was dismissed.
United and Ten Hag’s day was made worse shortly after the restart as the brilliant Dejan Kulusevski made it 2-0 before Dominic Solanke completed a 3-0 win.
Jay Harris, Charlotte Harpur and Ahmed Walid break down the action at Old Trafford.
What now for Ten Hag?
Ten Hag said he would take a long hard look in the mirror after the 1-1 draw with Twente midweek. He may have to look even harder tonight. Things look bleak.
The result is worrying — United sit 12th in the Premier League table on seven points, as close in points to the relegation zone as the European places — but their performance was even more concerning. On Sky Sports, former United defender Gary Neville described it as “disgusting”.
Statistically, Spurs completely outplayed them, as can be seen from the graphic below.
The first half was one of United’s worst displays under Ten Hag. They were disconnected, chaotic and lacklustre. The pressure is mounting. The new owners have backed Ten Hag by recruiting coaching staff and players but he, and they, have not delivered.
United fans streamed out of Old Trafford when Solanke netted Spurs’ third and the rain pouring down reflected the dismal mood.
The United hierarchy watch on at Old Trafford (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
It does not get any easier with Porto, United’s toughest opponent on paper, away in the Europa League on Thursday before travelling to Villa Park on Sunday.
Charlotte Harpur
Van de Ven does it again
For the second time this season, Micky van de Ven went on a mazy run up the pitch and created a goal for Tottenham out of nothing. The assist he produced for Son Heung-min against Everton was impressive enough but on Sunday, he also shut down a United counter-attack in the process.
It all starts with Destiny Udogie stepping up to tackle Alejandro Garnacho but the loose ball falls into Marcus Rashford’s path. The winger has a slight advantage but Van de Ven snaps into a tackle to win the ball.
He has acres of space to run into unchallenged as Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte fail to keep up. The Netherlands international recorded the quickest sprint speed in the Premier League last season and nobody can catch him when he is in full flow.
As he charges towards the box, United’s defenders seem scared to approach him, almost as if they fear they would bounce straight back off him.
He barrels past Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt…
… and whips the ball across the box.
He is moving at such speed that he crashes into the advertising boards. By the time he looks up to see what has happened, Johnson is celebrating scoring for the fourth game in a row.
Van de Ven touched the ball eight times and then, with his ninth, set up Johnson. It was a moment of quality from the defender who keeps improving.
Jay Harris
Was Fernandes’ red card harsh?
It was an awful opening 40 minutes for Ten Hag but things got even worse when United’s captain Fernandes was shown a straight red card.
Maddison went to accelerate past Fernandes with the ball, taking a touch with the outside of his right boot, and Fernandes slipped, with his left leg going underneath him.
He committed to the challenge despite being late, with his right-boot studs showing, and caught Maddison’s shin, just below the knee.
Fernandes’ initial reaction was to apologise but referee Chris Kavanagh was not having any of it. There was only slight contact, with his studs glancing down. It seemed a harsh red.
The Portugal international took a long, slow walk towards the tunnel at the opposite end of the pitch, shaking his head. He said after the match to Sky Sports that he felt the challenge on Maddison was “a foul, but never a red card. Even James Maddison when he gets up, he said, ‘It’s not a red card”.
“If this is a red card, we have to look at many other incidents,” Fernandes added. “It is a foul, there is not much contact, if he (the referee) wants to give me a yellow, I agree. I don’t understand why VAR doesn’t call him to the screen.” Ten Hag also told Sky Sports he did not believe it was a red card.
While Fernandes was heading off, Kobbie Mainoo was receiving treatment and United, who were ready to bring on Mason Mount, were temporarily playing with nine men.
At half-time, Ten Hag brought on Casemiro alongside Ugarte in midfield and took off Joshua Zirkzee, forming a 4-2-3. With Mount on the right, Alejandro Garnacho switched to the left and Rashford led the line. Despite being a man down, United stuck to their gung-ho approach and it was an uphill battle when, minutes later, they conceded a second.
Charlotte Harpur
How important is Kulusevski?
It is funny to think Kulusevski has spent the bulk of his time at Tottenham playing on the right wing since he joined them on an initial 18-month loan from Juventus in January 2022. Postecoglou started experimenting with Kulusevski in central midfield last year and this season, he has fully embraced it.
The Sweden international is an elegant dribbler who effortlessly glides past defenders but he combines that skill with a lot of hard work out of possession. In the first half against United, he created a goalscoring opportunity for Maddison with a skilful flick. Every time Ugarte received the ball, Kulusevski pounced on him to try to win it. His impact all across the pitch can be seen from his pass locations (below).
He created two fantastic chances for Timo Werner with perfectly placed through balls but his team-mate shot straight at Andre Onana on both occasions. Kulusevski has been Tottenham’s best performer this season and scored their second goal at Old Trafford.
United’s midfield and defence could not cope with Kulusevski and it was no surprise Ugarte was booked in the second half for bundling him over. Kulusevski’s technical quality was crucial to Tottenham earning all three points. His partnership with Maddison has the potential to become one of the best in the division.
Jay Harris
What is United’s problem in defensive transitions?
Last season, Ten Hag called for a more balanced approach between attacking quickly once United win the ball back and knowing when to control the game’s tempo. However, the outcome on the pitch didn’t reflect that ambition.
This season, United are having the same issues when defending the transitions. United’s insistence on attacking quickly is leaving their defenders and midfielders covering vast spaces when the opponent wins the ball back.
This gung-ho approach regardless of the situation has meant that United’s defence and midfield aren’t in the right position to counter-press effectively when the team loses the ball. They are left playing catch-up because of United’s attack-first-ask-question-later approach.
Against Tottenham, this was obvious on multiple occasions as United faced problems defending the transitions when they lost the ball. It was from their own attacking transitions that Johnson managed to score the first goal after Van de Ven won the ball in his own half and sprinted through United’s defence to set up the Wales forward. They were then again caught for the second goal from Kulusevski (below).
An inability to defend the transitions has been the most common feature in United’s play since the beginning of last season.
Ahmed Walid
What did Erik ten Hag say?
Ten Hag said in his post-match press conference: “It was clear, we started the game very poor, after we conceded a goal like we did, in the third minute, when you have outnumbering, the goal from a counter-attack when a centre half is crossing the whole pitch, then on the back post tapping in, that was our gameplan, we should protect that area very good, we knew their strengths.
“Then we were very stressful in the game, we didn’t find spare man in the switch, couldn’t keep the ball, not aggressive enough in third-man actions, we didn’t get press right, first 30 minutes were no good, but we were still alive, chances, then you can always come back.”
When asked about how they bounce back, he said: “There is always a new game, a new day, it is also you have to learn as a team, it can’t happen in two days, defender can’t dribble across whole pitch without being stopped, definitely we have to address this.”
Asked about whether owners are contemplating his future, Ten Hag said: “No, I am not thinking about this. We all made in togetherness this decision to stay together, as ownership group, leadership group in the summer, also we made the decision, after a clear review, what we have to improve as an organisation and how to construct a squad.
“All decisions made in togetherness, also knowing it would take some time, given how window went, some players late in, like Ugarte, we need to integrate him, organisation, injuries. We need some time, we are all there on one page, one boat, the ownership, the leadership group, the staff, players too.”
What did Ange Postecoglou say?
Postecoglou told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We were real good. Obviously it is a great victory. I thought the manner of the performance, we played our football really aggressively. That is everything we want to be. I knew the goals would come. We should have probably had a couple more.”
When asked about the red card, he added: “We were well in control. To be honest with you United still pose the same threat in the transition – I don’t think it changed the game. We were well on top by then.”
What next for Man Utd?
Thursday, October 3: Porto (A), Europa League, 8pm BST, 3pm ET
What next for Spurs?
Thursday, October 3: Ferencvaros (A), Europa League, 5.45pm BST, 12.45pm ET
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(Top photos: Getty Images)
