Manchester United 0-3 Tottenham: Spurs run riot at Old Trafford

Tottenham Hotspur ran through Manchester United at Old Trafford tonight, registering a 3-0 victory to heap even more pressure onto the shoulders of Jose Mourinho. While this wasn’t necessarily viewed as a ‘must win’ for the Portuguese boss it was certainly important for them to make some kind of statement, especially in the wake of their loss against Brighton & Hove Albion. Alas, they weren’t able to do that, as they fell to a far superior Spurs team who scored all three of their goals in the second half.

Uncertain start

The first 45 minutes certainly didn’t resemble a typical 0-0 game, with both Spurs and United throwing everything they had at one another in an attempt to gain the upper hand. Despite this, neither team could quite find the breakthrough they desired, and as the game went on you could feel the tension starting to grow around the stadium. As they went into the interval it was obvious to see that Mourinho’s side needed something big in the second half, and they didn’t get that.

Harry Kane put the visitors into the lead with a delightful header, and from that point on, Mauricio Pochettino’s men just grew in confidence. Less than two minutes later Lucas Moura proved why he was such an exciting acquisition for Tottenham with a lovely finish, as United’s defensive problems were exposed for all to see.

Unrecognisable United

There was no response whatsoever from United in an attacking sense, as they just seemed to be accepting their own fate. The general mood around the club has been exceedingly poor for weeks on end now, and you could argue that this is the biggest example of all that Jose Mourinho just isn’t a good fit for them anymore.

The Red Devils will need to recover from this pretty quickly, with a trip to Turf Moor at the weekend where they’ll face Burnley. Spurs, on the other hand, will now believe that they’re genuine contenders for the title race – and they’ll attempt to prove that in the next few weeks as they take on tough challenges in the form of Watford and Liverpool.

Match Report

Manchester United: De Gea (5), Herrera (5), Smalling (5.5), Jones (5), Valencia (5.5), Pogba (6), Matic (5.5), Fred (5), Shaw (6), Lingard (6), Lukaku (4.5)

Tottenham: Lloris (6.5), Trippier (6.5), Alderweireld (7), Vertonghen (6.5), Rose (6), Dembele (6), Dier (6.5), Alli (6.5), Eriksen (7), Kane (7), Moura (8)

Referee: Craig Pawson

Goals: Kane, Moura x2

Yellow Cards: Herrera, Valencia, Rose, Kane, Moura

Red Cards: N/A