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 just before half-time for a foul on James Maddison. The United captain slipped on his way towards the Spurs midfielder, but then caught Maddison high and was dismissed.
United and Ten Hag’s day was made worse shortly after the restart as a 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 FC Twente midweek. He may have to look even harder tonight. Things look bleak.
The result is worrying — United now sit 12th in the Premier League table on seven points, four points above the relegation zone — but the performance is even more concerning.
The first half was one of United’s worst performances under the Dutchman: disconnected, chaotic and lacklustre. The pressure is mounting. The new owners have backed Ten Hag with the recruitment of 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’s incredible assist
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. This was even more impressive than the assist he produced for Son Heung-min against Everton because on this occasion he shuts 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 of approaching him almost as if they are fearful of bouncing straight back off him.
He barrels past Noussair Mazraoui and his international team-mate Matthijs de Ligt and whips the ball across the box just before it goes out of play.
He was 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 with his ninth set up Johnson. It was a moment of quality from the defender who keeps improving every week.
Jay Harris
Was Fernandes’ red card harsh?
After an awful 40 minutes, things went from bad to worse when United’s captain Fernandes was shown a straight red card.
Maddison went to accelerate with the ball past Fernandes, taking a touch with the outside of his right boot, but Fernandes slipped, his left leg coming underneath him.
But he committed to the challenge despite being late, and with his right boot studs showing, he caught Maddison’s shin, just below the knee.
Fernandes’ initial reaction was to apologise but referee Chris Kavanagh was not having any of it. He went into the challenge with his studs showing but 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. Meanwhile, Kobbie Mainoo went off to receive treatment and United, who were ready to bring Mason Mount on, were temporarily playing with nine men.
At half-time, Ten Hag brought Casemiro on alongside Ugarte in midfield and took Joshua Zirkzee off, forming a 4-2-3. With Mount on the right, Alejandro Garnacho switched to the left and Marcus 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 initially joined them on an 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 glides past defenders effortlessly but he combines that 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.
Dejan Kulusevski has created 8 chances against Manchester United today.
Only Christian Eriksen (9 vs. Newcastle and Crystal Palace) has ever created more in a single Premier League game for Spurs (since 03-04)#MNUTOT pic.twitter.com/2oFFE5ulbR
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 29, 2024
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 he was rewarded by scoring their second goal at Old Trafford.
United’s midfield and defence could not cope with him throughout and it was no surprise Ugarte was booked in the second half for bundling him over. Kulusevski’s technical quality was critical to Tottenham earning all three points and his partnership with Maddison has the potential to become one of the best in the division.
Jay Harris
What’s United’s problem in defensive transitions?
Throughout last season, Ten Hag had called for a more balanced approach between attacking quickly once United win the ball back and knowing when to control the tempo of the game. However, the outcome on the pitch didn’t reflect that ambition.
In 2024-25, it looks like the same issues when it comes to defending the transitions are still there. United’s insistence to attack quickly in possession or on the transition has been leaving their defenders and midfielders defending vast spaces when the opponent wins the ball back.
The 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, because they are playing catch up because of United’s attack-first-ask-question-later approach.
Against Tottenham, this was obvious on multiple occasions as United faced numerous problems defending the transitions when they lost the ball and 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 defend to set up the Wales forward. They were then again caught for the second goal from Kulusevski (below).
The 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?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What did Ange Postecoglou say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
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
Recommended reading
(Top image: Getty Images)
