Three goals and three points marked the perfect outing for Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, as the Lilywhites recorded an impressive victory at Old Trafford against a Manchester United side reduced to ten men at the end of the first half.
Brennan Johnson continued his fine form to deal the first blow, before the half ended in controversy when Bruno Fernandes was shown red. Goals after the break from Dejan Kulusevksi and Dominic Solanke sealed the win for the North London side.
As it happened
Tottenham got off to a flying start at Old Trafford, striking in just the third minute to go ahead, with Brennan Johnson putting his side a goal to the good. It was the run from Mickey van de Ven that would take the limelight, gliding through a non-existent defence before squaring to Johnson, who couldn’t miss. It was an early blow for Manchester United; Erik ten Hag will have something to say about the poor defending for this one.
Embed from Getty ImagesDespite the lacklustre start from the Red Devils, made known by the groans of the Old Trafford crowd, Marcus Rashford nearly levelled the scoring. The 26-year-old looked to beat Guglielmo Vicario at his near post, with the Italian denying him. It would have likely been ruled out for offside, but United could take encouragement from the move after a dominant start from Spurs.
The hosts were struggling to match Spurs, with only the base of the post denying a second for Johnson and the visitors. A surging run from Destiny Udogie carved open Manchester United, before he found Dejan Kulusevski in the middle. The former Juventus man laid it off to Johnson who struck it sweetly, attempting to find the far corner, with his effort coming back off the upright. Spurs were making this look all too easy, with the home side seemingly nowhere near up to the challenge.
Manchester United were already a goal down, and to add to that, they also went a man down with just minutes to go before the break. It was a straight red for Bruno Fernandes, with Chris Kavanagh not hesitating to produce the card after the Portuguese international caught James Maddison, who was looking to drive forward in the middle, high on the shin. Fernandes’ argument is that he slipped in the process – the decision seemed harsh, and United will feel hard-done by.
Embed from Getty ImagesBoth managers made double changes at the break. Zirkzee made way for Casemiro, whilst a suspected injury for Udogie saw him replaced by Djed Spence. It took Spurs only two minutes to double their lead in the second period, as Kulusevski found the back of the net for a first goal of the season and a deserved second for Tottenham. Johnson turned into the provider this time, with his deflected cross falling to Kulusevski. He flicked it up and over Onana with his stuck out leg, giving his side the breathing room they craved.
Casemiro was close to pulling one back for United as he met the floated ball from Lisandro Martínez, with his effort flying just wide of the left-hand post. With their hope and encouragement for Manchester United, ten Hag made positive changes by bringing Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Højlund on for Manuel Ugarte and Rashford.
Despite this brighter spell from the Red Devils, Spurs added a third in the 77th minute. Pape Sarr made an instant impact off the bench, flicking the corner on to a dangerous area in the six-yard box, which was met by Solanke, who got the slightest of touches to send it over the line to wrap up the three points for Ange Postecoglou’s side and end any hopes of an improbably comeback.
The lineups
MUN: Onana; Mazraoui, de Ligt, Martínez, Dalot; Ugarte, Mainoo; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee
TOT: Vicario; Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bentancur, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Werner