Tottenham torment United as the Red Devils suffer yet another defeat at home

This is rock bottom of Erik Ten Hag’s tenure at Manchester United: a chaotic mess that Tottenham gleefully exploited, plinking the ball about, penetrating through their storied host as if in a men vs kids knockabout. 

The boss claims to have a plan and on Sunday it seems to be based on gesturing opponents past on a figurative red carpet, and Ange Postecoglu’s men blew them apart endlessly. Approaching the end, at 2-0, a 10 -an United regrouped, as Casemio rallied and Alejandro Garnacho darted in: this only showed what Ten Hag’s changes might have done if they were not an embarrassment to the crest. 

By that time Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski had registered their name on the score sheet and Bruno Fernandez had been shown a straight red, so the skipper will miss the next three league fixtures. If the decision seemed harsh, further injury and insult sewed up as Lucas Bervali’s first touch- a corner- was headed on at the near post by Pape Matar Sarr- his first touch, too- and Dominic Solanke, who was roaming unmarked freely scored the third goal to put the final nail in the coffin.  

Ten Hag, soaked in heavy downpour, had supervised a duck shoot and this too, with Tottenham without the services of their ace forward Son Heung-min, who was ruled out of this duel due to injury, and who might have given the home side a six- or seven-nil annihilation. 

United play Porto next on Thursday in the Europa League, then travel to Aston Villa on Sunday in the Premier League. After this downright hotchpotch, Ten Hag, desperately, ennes to return to winning ways- ideally both of these matches- as it is now this loss and two draws in his team’s last three outings. 

As the away fans jubilantly sang When the Spurs Go Marching in, and despite the rebuttal of any job-security issue, the besieged Dutchman concluded his afternoon dicing with the area labeledled sacking."

Postecoglu, though, drenches in the pleasant glow of his team having beaten the 20-time champions, on their home ground. And under the mantra of "it's just who we are, mate" and with a tendency to carefree laissez-faire towards the cliché that a second season "always" automatically means silverware, Postecoglou is endearingly confident.

Within three minutes, that confidence was there in his players and the rest of the match. Fernandes passed the ball to Garnacho at midfield, who tapped it to Marcus Rashford. Rashford pushed forward but over hit pass to allow Micky van de Ven to intercept and launch a powerful run that left United scrambling. From the resulting cross on the left byline Jo,hnson tapped the ball in. 

Tottenham looked marvelous while Manchester United just seemed lost. The naivety would shine through when Manuel Ugarte stepped off the ball a little too late, allowing James Maddison to nip it back and give possession to Dominic Solanke. A crucial tackle by Lisandro Martinez ensured Ten Hag's side escaped with nothing more than jeers as the half went into their final resting place.

United were like a dazed Anthony Joshua in the early round against Daniel Dubois: stunned by the first punch and unable to regain their composure. So often there is a lifeline against Postecoglou's unpredictability. Still, Rashford had gone down the left, the pass finding Joshua Zirkzee short and wide, and it was a lack of clinical finishing that Ten Hag lamented.

Spurs tore through United's fragile defence with ease. Take Destiny Udogie who cantered past the left channel, opening up space for Brennan Johnson whose effort thudded into the right post after beating André Onana to it.

Before that Onana had blocked a Maddison chip following a smart interchange between Kulusevski and Udogie. Johnson almost set up Timo Werner for an easy tap-in but Nasser Mazraoui intercepted in time.

Cut to an irate Ten Hag as his team were simply torn to bits. Dalot, having lost Johnson for the first goal, was turned inside out without effort by Maddison, who shot wide. Cristian Romero was also guilty of a stunning scissors kick that again highlighted United's utter lack of organization.

Tottenham's chances build up like an abacus. Kulusevski attempted to reach Werner, but Onana stopped this once again, and this time, the German should have done much better. That was when things turned around: Bruno Fernandes lightly touched Maddison, and that produced a red card by the referee, Christopher Kavanagh.

As the whistle blew for half-time, United fans had no reason to smile. Spurs further their lead as the second half started with Casemiro replacing Zirkzee and Rashford playing as a No. 9, probable for team equilibrium. Johnson broke down the left wing and played a ball, which Kulusevski deflected into the net.

Even with ten men, United failed to create a significant problem and nearly lost a second captain when Martínez brought down Maddison but this was only punished with a yellow card. Romero escaped a penalty shout when he appeared to handle the ball and Martínez's goal looked safe when he misjudged a bouncing ball.