Tottenham Hotspur have potentially driven another nail into Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United coffin thanks to a 3-0 win over the abject 10-man Red Devils at Old Trafford in the Premier League.
Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke all found the net at the Theatre of Dreams, where Bruno Fernandes’s first red card for Man United rubbed salt into the wounds for the disenchanted home supporters, many of whom headed for the exits well before full time.
The cacophony of boos told the story as the half-time whistle blew, as Tottenham trudged into the changing rooms with a one-goal advantage to their name, but it could and almost certainly should have been more.
Ange Postecoglou’s team needed just 155 seconds to make their mark on the Old Trafford turf, as Micky van de Ven produced a Usain Bolt-esque sprint from inside his own half before teeing up Johnson for the simplest of tap-ins.
In terms of a response from the Red Devils, there was not one. Ten Hag’s men lost the ball at will, struggled to string a few passes together and were thankful that Tottenham were being their own worst enemies in the final third.
The hosts’ uphill struggle became all the more difficult when Fernandes took the walk of shame for a high tackle on James Maddison, although it was not exactly a crunching challenge from the midfielder, who slipped before catching his opponent with an outstretched leg, albeit with studs up.
The 1-0 scoreline flattered Man United at half time, but Spurs would belatedly double their lead within two minutes of the restart, as Johnson went from scorer to provider for an unorthodox Kulusevski volley.
Cries of “You’re getting sacked in the morning!” bellowed out from the jubilant away end, who would have a third goal to cheer late on, when Solanke got in behind a frozen Man United backline to poke home from a corner.
Hundreds if not thousands of home fans had caught an early train home before the final whistle, which was greeted with even more jeers by those that stayed for the full show, as the Red Devils languish in a dismal 12th place while Spurs rise to eighth on the back of their fourth straight win in all tournaments.
Johnson gets the final touch, but this goal is all about the electrifying Micky van de Ven, who produces the best solo run from a centre-back that Gary Neville has ever seen in his life!
The Dutchman win the ball back inside his own half thanks to a poor touch from Marcus Rashford and puts the afterburners on, leaving several red shirts for dead as he surges into the Man United penalty area.
Van de Ven’s ball across the six-yard box is on the money for Johnson, who is completely unmarked at the back post and cannot miss from a yard out. Terrible from Rashford, tremendous from Van de Ven, Tottenham lead.