Tottenham were impartial appropriate nonetheless no longer as impartial appropriate as Manchester United were nasty in one other new low for Erik ten Hag, whose summer season signings beget modified nothing at Aged Trafford.
1) Distinctly mediocre starts to the season for both these facets supposed a excessive likelihood of a disaster klaxon accompanying the final whistle. Ange Postecoglou’s lack of a Concept B and the wait for Erik ten Hag’s Concept A to materialise had build both managers in the sack lumber operating.
Neither team had inspired self belief of their capacity to forestall what we assume is their significant design this season. With the excellence of Manchester Metropolis and Arsenal, Arne Slot’s begin at Liverpool, Aston Villa’s precise progression below Unai Emery – even with that disappointing blueprint at Ipswich – and the getting together of the sh*t by Enzo Maresca at Chelsea, it might perhaps perchance beget taken particularly blinkered Tottenham or Manchester United fans to indicate their teams had anything else more than the faintest hope of Champions League qualification by the usage of the Premier League in accordance with the hole five video games of the campaign.
This became the excellent opportunity for a press originate salvage, given it might perhaps perchance be over Mountainous Six side, nonetheless one taking half in below the stage that resulted in them being labelled as such.
The close consequence became constantly going to head trying for better on paper than it might perhaps perchance be actually and whereas Spurs will rightly be buoyed by a salvage at Aged Trafford after a lower than convincing begin to the season, it’s a consequence that requires the context of it coming over this Manchester United, impartial appropriate as this kind of comprehensive defeat for Ten Hag’s side requires the context of it being doled out by a Spurs side whose flaws were laid bare over the past six months, all all over which length they’ve won impartial appropriate six of 16 Premier League video games.
That lumber of form is price keen about when deciding whether this became more about Spurs being impartial appropriate or United being nasty.
2) Gary Neville played the hits, describing Manchester United’s first-half performance as “disgraceful”, “disgusting” and – most damning of all – “one in every of the worst performances below Erik ten Hag”.
Tottenham were allowed to attain whatever they mandatory. Whereas we noticed energy, brotherly love and structure from them, United were chaotic, disconnected and lacklustre. We’ve bored ourselves saying it, nonetheless it completely’s no less impartial the 427th time than the first: the Manchester United avid gamers don’t know what they’re doing.
Whereas you combine that with the 2d example in the home of per week of the opposition team “trying it more”, we’re left over as soon as more questioning what Ten Hag’s brand is. A supervisor that might perhaps well’t organise or motivate their team can also composed no longer be the supervisor.
3) There became one verbalize penetrative switch of many by Spurs which noticed them ride from advantage to entrance, ending with Brennan Johnson hitting the post, that exemplified the lethargy of the United avid gamers.
In a improper strive and press Tottenham, first Noussair Mazraoui and then Matthijs de Ligt tried to salvage possession, nonetheless were both too leisurely and by diving in half a 2d too leisurely left their teammates horribly exposed to what became admittedly some slick passing from Spurs.
It took situation time and as soon as more. If Spurs bought their passing magnificent they cleave magnificent thru United. That’s no longer standard. That’s a coaching reveal. Attacking avid gamers might perhaps even be impartial appropriate – and at times, Spurs’ were – nonetheless defenders might perhaps even be impartial appropriate too, and save for one mighty clearance from Mazraoui, United’s weren’t. Nevertheless we nearly – nearly – feel sorry for them.
4) They were constantly below tension. If Tottenham bought the ball, they’d at some stage in a switch – usually after three or four passes – derive it in or across the United penalty space.
Once more, that’s no longer standard. We don’t assume we’re being disingenuous by suggesting that every assorted Premier League team would beget defended better. The press is also now the most valuable ingredient of defending, and Manchester United – after over two seasons below Ten Hag – derive no longer beget any belief how one can both beat the click or press themselves. It’s unbelievable.
Whether or no longer it’s an absence of understanding as to what the triggers are, miserable fitness stages or a more uncomplicated case of them failing to have a study instructions, it all reflects terribly on Ten Hag, who has constantly failed to enforce the tactical ingredient of customary soccer that at one stage separated the excellent from the rest nonetheless is now – recognize it or loathe it – a staple of all half-respectable educated soccer teams.
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5) Ten Hag can no longer blame accidents or squad depth as he did final season.
Luke Shaw might perhaps perchance be the first-want left-advantage if fit and there will be a debate over which of Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee can also composed lead the toll road till both one in every of them starts scoring on a frequent basis, nonetheless those two positions apart, the starting up lineup here is set as impartial appropriate because it’s going to derive for United.
Key to this close-to-first-want-XI became the elephantine Premier League debut of Manuel Ugarte, who will ride to bed tonight picturing the No.10 of James Maddison over one in every of his shoulders.
The Uruguayan became caught flat-footed by Maddison with uncomplicated one-twos three times in the hole half an hour of the sport and, more a brand of Spurs’ dominance than his grasp limitations, failed to entire a circulation in the Spurs half in the first forty five minutes.
It became a brutal introduction to Premier League soccer for a midfielder who did a superbly serviceable impact of the guy he became signed to interchange, chasing shadows as Casemiro has done for the final year. He regarded alarmingly uncombative and cumbersome for a midfield battler notorious for his capacity to derive across the pitch.
6) The United performances before this game had equipped scope for the fans to don rose-tinted spectacles. They had the fifth-most productive xG in the league with 9.5 from five video games, in which they’d scored five targets, with the affordable assertion from both the fans and Ten Hag himself that “I might perhaps perchance be insecure if we weren’t increasing chances.”
Likely now is the time to terror then after a game in which Tottenham surpassed Manchester United’s xG at Aged Trafford: 5.33 for them in one game to United’s 4.84 across three, with impartial appropriate 0.98 on Sunday.
“Now we prefer to assassinate,” Ten Hag mentioned earlier than kick-off when asked what his side prefer to attain to expose what he professed were impartial appropriate performances into definite results, naming Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund as his assassins. They had three shots between them; none of them heading in the appropriate path.
7) Rashford will undergo the brunt of the profligacy criticism. He didn’t put together a shot and has taken impartial appropriate four in 420 minutes of Premier League soccer this season. An in-form Rashford might perhaps perchance be taking pot-shots from wherever.
That has usually been to the frustration of the United fans, who now as a change groan at him operating towards defenders before turning advantage and recycling the ball.
He tried impartial appropriate two dribbles here; if he’s no longer taking pictures and no longer dribbling it’s magnificent to quiz his price to the team, though he did originate one mighty unhealthy for Alejandro Garnacho, who did effectively to derive a effectively-organized enough connection on the ball to hit the post having slipped at the most valuable 2d.
That became the one example of respectable link-up play between Rashford and Garnacho, who very no longer usually regarded as though they’re on the same web page for Manchester United. Now not impartial appropriate on this game, nonetheless additionally positively on this game, particularly impartial appropriate before Micky van de Van did his madness, with Rashford taking a heavy contact that might perhaps well even were a circulation for Garnacho, nonetheless as a change allowed the Spurs defender to whisk out of defence with amazing design.
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8) His advantage towards Everton became mighty, nonetheless no longer so considerable a brand of his impartial appropriate ball control and dribbling quality as this one. All of Van de Ven’s eight touches to understand him the 70-uncommon yards to the United byline were excellent, as became his squared circulation for Brennan Johnson, who couldn’t protect from smiling even before he side-footed the ball in, such became the plate his teammate had build the ball on and the convenience with which he had opened the scoring after three minutes at Aged Trafford.
It looks recognize extremely quiet defending from United, with Ugarte bypassed and then Mazraoui and De Ligt split by the extra special fling and prolonged strides of the Kaka regen. They beget to beget introduced him down, nonetheless such became the inertia of United in that 2d, there became actually most productive one level – when Mazraoui can also no longer were definite whether contact might perhaps perchance be in or out of the box – when any of them managed to derive close enough to contemptible him.
Likely we would be more willing to jot down it off purely as Van de Den brilliance if being leisurely wasn’t conventional of every little thing Manchester United did.
9) We all know Tottenham are mercurial. Van de Ven is mercurial and Johnson, Timo Werner, Dejan Kulusevski, Future Udogie and Dominic Solanke all beget paddle to burn. Postecoglou’s want for fling became particularly evident on this game, because – and this sounds extra special – Ten Hag appears to be like to beget built an antithetical team. Whether or no longer here’s the truth or to attain with their torpor as a results of the kind things are going, they all seem very, very leisurely.
De Ligt regarded as though he’s about to have a study Raphael Varane into retirement at the age of 25, Mazraoui became constantly breezed past, first by Werner and then by teen Mikey Moore, whereas Joshua Zirkzee requires no lower than ten strides to derive his huge body transferring. With the exception of Rashford and Garnacho, there’s an actual lack of zip to United.
10) That obviously wasn’t helped by Bruno Fernandes’ dismissal at the close of the first length, though United had played as though they were no lower than a man light before that finally.
The United captain became positively unfortunate. He clearly slips before making contact and what would were a straightforward ride back and forth of James Maddison – and actually composed became – became as a change deemed to be unhealthy as a results of Bruno’s studs very nearly making contact with the Spurs playmaker’s shin.
They didn’t though, it became his heel that caught Maddison, and whereas we don’t prefer video games re-refereed and many others. and many others., we would additionally rather recognize VAR to head trying for at that and solution to the excellent logical conclusion that it’s a extraordinarily definite yellow card nonetheless no longer a crimson.
11) We attain prefer to communicate about Bruno though. Having been the most inventive participant in the Premier League across the final two seasons, increasing chances at a fee of three.3 per 90 minutes across those campaigns, he’s now down at 1.1 in 2024/2025.
Even if Ten Hag styles out the pressing, the defence, will get the forwards linking up and comes up with a notion beyond signing respectable footballers and throwing them onto a soccer pitch, United won’t attain anything else this season without Bruno Fernandes performing near his most productive.
And that’s what’s so extraordinary – he’s constantly been near his most productive. He’s been terribly impartial appropriate at some stage in his time at Aged Trafford. Whereas a couple of of his teammates beget enjoyed peaks and all of them beget endured troughs, Fernandes has been constantly impartial appropriate.
Of us beget constantly questioned his leadership skills, grown frustrated along with his arm-flapping histrionics and amateur dramatics, nonetheless for the first time ever at Manchester United we’ve been granted with the alien opportunity to quiz his form.
12) Tottenham would completely beget had five or six had their most productive finisher been readily available. They were additionally without Son Heung-min for the same fixture final season, which confirmed Angeball as a philosophy that ran thru the squad after the Premier League return of Timo Werner, who equipped a neat advantage for Rodrigo Bentancur in that game nonetheless additionally plenty of the stuff that noticed him ride away Chelsea to small more than a shrug from the fans.
He overlooked an unlimited probability in the first half here, and no longer one single particular person notion he would secure having raced beyond the United defence on midway to head one-on-one with Andre Onana, who spread himself nonetheless needn’t beget as Werner scuffed his shot straight at the United goalkeeper with all ending strategies readily available to him.
And it became a identical narrative in the 2d half for Werner, whose runs stay impartial appropriate and his compose-up play impartial appropriate enough for a starting up plot on this team if he can also most productive drum up the uncommon respectable raise out, recognize those he became notorious for in his first spell at RB Leipzig, rather than the telegraphed, limp-ankled efforts recognize his strive that became as soon as more comfortably saved by Onana after the ruin.
He’ll no longer beget climbed the winger pecking verbalize as a results of this performance, as Johnson reinforced his squawk with a design and an advantage for Kulusevski, who became mighty in his more central situation alongside Maddison.
13) Kulusevski created 9 chances, the most on chronicle (since 2003-04) by a visiting participant in a Premier League game at Aged Trafford. He’s having a magnificent ol’ time buzzing round in midfield and has now created more chances per 90 minutes (4.11) than any assorted Premier League participant.
He’s mercurial and has a extraordinarily tight turning circle, nonetheless that considerable became evident whereas he became taking half in on the hover. It’s his vision and weight of circulation that’s solution to the fore this season, and Postecoglou deserves gigantic credit ranking for noticing that his capacity to split defences is more actually handy when taking half in in an inverted situation.
It became a stress-free raise out too. Johnson raced definite of Lisandro Martinez – who dived in on the midway line in a skill in retaining along with his conventional rushes of blood to the head and his team’s general lack of understanding – and his unhealthy became deflected into the crawl of Kulusevski, who neatly cushioned the ball on the volley over and past Onana. It became wonderfully composed.
We might perhaps well effectively be cautious (no longer that Ange will be) that towards better opposition Spurs is also exposed thru the heart with both Kulusevski and Maddison clearly favouring one box over one other of their box-to-box roles. And actually, even here, in a ten-minute spell in the 2d half there were signs that if an opposition team will get the ascendency Spurs can also fight to battle it advantage with Rodrigo Bentancur the lone scrapper, and a posh one at that.
14) That became a extraordinarily extra special length in the sport, and proof – no longer that we wanted it – that no topic the dominance of Tottenham, Spursiness constantly lingers.
Casemiro had approach on for Zirkzee to shore things up at half-time and didn’t attain that, nonetheless did beget an impact on the entrance foot, handing over some mighty passes to force United forward and inserting one shot impartial appropriate past the post from a tight attitude after a Martinez ball over the Spurs defence.
Garnacho additionally began to head trying for somewhat more recognize himself, hustling down the hover and reducing inner, to such an extent that very hastily we notion: “If United derive one here…”
Postecoglou responded to that somewhat uneasy spell for his side by bringing on Lucas Bergvall and Pape Matar Sarr, who combined with their first contribution to position the sport beyond doubt. Bergvall took the corner and Sarr flicked it on for Dominic Solanke to prod home.
15) Despite the proven truth that caveated by it being towards this Manchester United, it became an mighty performance and consequence for Tottenham.
They regarded a ways more recognize the dynamic side that at this level final season had us marvelling at their hell-for-leather-based fully soccer below a brand new supervisor, who became in all probability lauded somewhat too emphatically at that level and has been written off lately with a ways too considerable trot in the park in some quarters after their fresh struggles.
There’s absolute self belief after that demonstrate that Postecoglou composed has the backing of all of his avid gamers, and why wouldn’t he? Being piece of a team that might perhaps well play with that considerable freedom at Aged Trafford must be a blast.
Nevertheless whereas they were impartial appropriate, they weren’t as impartial appropriate as United were nasty.
16) Ten Hag mentioned he “wasn’t thinking” about his seemingly sacking after the defeat, insisting “we’re all there on one web page, one boat, the ownership, the leadership community, the workers, avid gamers too.”
Which will effectively be impartial. He can’t know for definite – Sir Jim Ratcliffe hadn’t been on the blower in the Half-hour between the final whistle and his post-match interviews – nonetheless both the co-proprietor or Dan Ashworth can also effectively approach out in toughen of their supervisor in the approaching week, earlier than a seemingly rabbit-out-of-the-hat demonstrate away at Porto to grant Ten Hag breathing home, before more sack chat after defeat to Aston Villa next Sunday. It’s cyclical and interminable.
Nevertheless the sack is coming. If Manchester United are trying to salvage the Premier League in 2028, as CEO Omar Berrada mentioned became the club’s target this week, that will be without Erik ten Hag.
He can neither motivate or organise a team for more than the uncommon game, let by myself with the now extra special consistency required to salvage a Premier League title. Upright demand Mikel Arteta what’s required. Ten Hag is nowhere near that stage.
We might perhaps also impartial appropriate about understand them retaining in his post this summer season, given the FA Cup triumph and a seeming lack of seemingly choices, nonetheless there comes a level when any individual else might perhaps perchance be better, with this team at one other lowest ebb of many in his perennially doomed tenure.
