Manchester United were woeful as Tottenham swept them aside at Old Trafford on Sunday, with a red card shown to captain Bruno Fernandes compounding Erik ten Hag’s nightmare. Goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke sealed a 3-0 victory for the visitors.
Johnson scored just three minutes into the game, turning home Micky van de Ven’s cross after a fine run by the Spurs defender. United struggled and frustration got the better of Fernandes just prior to half-time, with the captain sent off for a poor challenge on James Maddison.
Ten Hag’s players barely put up a fight and conceded twice more through Kulusevski and Solanke. Here are five things Express Sport took away from the game.
Man Utd produce ‘one of the worst’ Ten Hag performances
This was United at their dismal worst – reminiscent of some of their shockers under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
As Fernandes trudged off after his red card, United legend Gary Neville summed up the first half on Sky Sports commentary duty. “It (the tackle) is not as bad as I initially thought but it sums up United in the first half – who have been an absolute disgrace. Probably one of the worst halves I’ve seen under Ten Hag and that’s saying something.”
Fernandes will now miss the Red Devils’ next three matches and Kobbie Mainoo may also be absent after limping off injured. Those issues combine to present Ten Hag with further problems in the coming weeks.
Van de Ven exposes soft touch
It took just three minutes for United to allow Van de Ven to wade through their midfield and defence with little challenge. Marcus Rashford was too easily dispossessed with a loose touch in Spurs’ half, while the Red Devils’ midfield were nowhere to be seen.
Noussair Mazraoui was too occupied by Timo Werner on the left wing, presenting Van de Ven with a huge gap between the United right-back and Matthijs de Ligt to break into. Van de Ven’s speed and control saw him to the byline, where he crossed for Brennan Johnson to tap home. Diogo Dalot had failed to track the winger.
United were supposed to have solved the issue that saw teams breeze through them too easily with the signings of De Ligt and Manuel Ugarte – but neither addition showed any sign of improving this weakness in this instance.
Fernandes compounds Man Utd’s misery
Fernandes might count himself a little unlucky to have seen red for his challenge on James Maddison. But once he continued to attempt his tackle after slipping on the sodden turf, it was wild and out of control, catching the Spurs midfielder high on his knee.
It was an action born out of frustration and summed up United’s first half. Ten Hag could have done with his captain remaining on the pitch for the rest of the game, and won’t thank Fernandes for leaving him without his leader for the next three matches.
Kulusevski shines
The space in United’s midfield was perfect for Kulusevski to take control of the game. Revitalised as an attacking midfielder under Ange Postecoglou, the Sweden international was exceptional at Old Trafford.
He created several chances by driving through the middle of the pitch and scored a wonderful goal early in the second half. His delicate flick left Andre Onana stranded after Johnson’s cross.
Tottenham finally replace Harry Kane
It was a familiar sight for Spurs: A striker attacking a near-post flick-on to score a poacher’s goal from a set-piece. Harry Kane scored so many of those goals but his departure left a gaping hole. Dominic Solanke is more than good enough to do a positive job of filling the England captain’s shoes.
Solanke rounded off this Spurs win by rolling the ball home after Pape Matar Sarr’s flick found him with no alternative but to score. The £55million signing has scored three goals in a week and looks to be the centre-forward Postecoglou sorely lacked last term.
