Manchester United 0-3 Tottenham: What Were The Main Talking Points As The Pressure On Erik Ten Hag’s Shoulders Reaches A Boiling Point?

Putting in what was a sensational performance on Sunday afternoon, Tottenham stormed their way to a 3-0 romp away at a woeful Manchester United.

Flying out of the traps at Old Trafford, Spurs got off to a dream start as the red-hot Brennan Johnson tapped home from close range in the opening three minutes and recorded his fourth goal in as many consecutive appearances.

With the Red Devils drastically outplayed across the park, things only got worse for Erik ten Hag’s side as skipper Bruno Fernandes was shown a straight red card for a lunge at James Maddison moments before the half-time break.

Watching Dejan Kulusevski flick past Andre Onana within seconds of returning from the interval, the Old Trafford support made their feelings abundantly clear.

However, in what will be remembered as another nightmare in the red half of Manchester, Tottenham added a third late on as summer recruit Dominic Solanke continued on his fine run since returning from September’s international break.

On an afternoon when Spurs breezed their way to three points at Old Trafford, we have taken a look at the main talking points.

Spurs make a statement in Manchester

Marking their return from September’s international break with a 1-0 loss at home against arch-rivals Arsenal and mustering just a single win from any of their first four Premier League appearances, Ange Postecoglou had come under some recent scrutiny.

However, with the former Celtic boss making it clear that he is desperate to bring a long-awaited piece of silverware back to north London, Spurs certainly made a major statement here.

Getting their Europa League adventure underway with an action-packed 3-0 victory against Qarabag earlier in the week, Sunday’s guests have now won all of their previous four appearances across all competitions.

Likewise, including a 3-1 win against London rivals Brentford last weekend, Postecoglou’s side have secured back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since returning from March’s international break.

Getting the job done at Old Trafford despite being unable to call upon attacking talisman Son Heung-Min due to a recent hamstring injury here, Tottenham have fired themselves back into the top-four chase.

The pressure on ten Hag’s shoulders is at a boiling point

While the new hierarch at Old Trafford might have made the shock decision to stick with ten Hag following Manchester United’s FA Cup success back in May, the former Ajax manager once again finds a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders.

With many around the red half of Manchester making it abundantly clear that they want a change in the Old Trafford dugout, Sunday’s nightmare display could prove to be a final nail in ten Hag’s coffin.

Now mustering just a pair of wins from any of their previous seven appearances across all competitions after opening their Europa League campaign with a 1-1 draw against Twente earlier in the week, United have come under a tremendous amount of scrutiny.

Breaking a string of unwanted records last year and still appearing to be a million miles away from cementing themselves as a top-four regular, ten Hag has seen his squad show a string of issues at both ends of the pitch.

Heading into September’s international break with another infamous 3-0 loss at the hands of historic rivals Liverpool, it is hard to see where ten Hag goes from here following another woeful performance at Old Trafford.

Johnson continues to silence the critics

Deleting his social media accounts after a horrendous public backlash following Tottenham’s north London derby defeat on September 15th, Johnson couldn’t have silenced his critics in a more remarkable fashion over the past fortnight.

Despite receiving some ridicule from his own supporters this season, the Wales international has certainly underlined what a leading role he has to play across all fronts.

Making the move to Spurs after completing a £45million move from Nottingham Forest last year, Johnson has now found the net in all of his previous four consecutive appearances across all competitions.

Once again receiving a string of praise from Postecoglou following another tremendous performance here, the 23-year-old has now cemented his spot as a vital part of Tottenham’s attack.

Likewise, watching summer recruit Solanke tap home and recording a third goal in as many appearances, Spurs’ new duo do appear to be forming a blossoming partnership.

Match Report

Manchester United: Onana, Dalot, Martinez, de Ligt, Mazraoui, Ugarte, Mainoo, Rashford, Fernandes, Garnacho, Zirkzee

Subs: Eriksen, Diallo, Mount, Hojlund, Casemiro

Tottenham: Vicario, Udogie, van de Ven, Romero, Porro, Maddison, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Werner, Solanke, Johnson

Subs: Spence, Dragusin, Sarr, Bergvall, Moore

Goals: Johnson (3’), Kulusevski (47’), Solanke (77’)

Yellow Cards: Manchester United: Dalot, Martinez, Mazraoui, Ugarte, Mount – Tottenham: Johnson, Porro, Spence

Red Cards: Fernandes (42’)

Referee: Chris Kavanagh