Here we are once more. Man Utd don't show up to a game of football and get walked all over by an opponent. This time it was Ange Postecoglou and Spurs who were the beneficiaries of a United 'performance' where the team from London had free roam of Old Trafford.
Fair play to Spurs. They came with the right attitude and played some great football resulting in a deserved win. They should've had more tbh.
As for MUFC. There are no positives. There's nothing about that game that we can takeaway from it with other than we were lucky to not get beaten by more.
From minute 1, we played with no attitude. From minute 2, the game was done as Brennan Johnson made it 1-0 to the visitors.
There was no coming back from that.
As silly as it may sound, one could see from the first minute the way the game was going. Spurs were all over us. They were hungrier for the ball. They pressed us when they didn't have it, they kept it well and looked good going forward.
That was all in the opening 60 seconds and just a minute later, they were 1-0 up.
Most teams after a slow and sluggish start and one where you're not at the races causes you to go behind early on, is a reason to kick yourselves into gear and wake up.
With this United side though, its the opposite. We get worse.
Where Spurs did everything correct, MUFC couldn't keep the ball, their passing was terrible, their reactions to things were super slow, they weren't hungry enough, they panicked on the ball, they didn't press well enough. It was an absolute disaster.
The away side continued to keep their foot on the pedal and carved out multiple good opportunities but as has been their problem as well all season, failure to take those opportunities is what keep the score to just 1-0 when it should've been more.
Erik ten Hag's side didn't look up for it at all yet even still, managed to create a couple decent chances of their own. Joshua Zirkzee with the best of the lot but not getting enough power on the ball meant it was a comfortable save for Vicario when it really ought not to have been.
While Garnacho did hit the post after a difficult attempt, so did Brennan Johnson. Timo Werner also called Onana into a good save when he was one-on-one.
Oh yes, Bruno Fernandes got sent off. Not that it made a difference as he was non-existent in the game both in terms of a number 10 and captain.
Was it a red? Probably not but I believe this could be a good thing because it means he cannot play the next three domestic games. As the manager was reluctant to drop him before, his hand is now forced and we can see what we look like without the skipper.
All this happened in the first half btw. There was still a whole 45 minutes to go.
But what also didn't help United is that Mainoo got injured and had to be taken off at halftime for Mason Mount, who later got a head injury resulting in him having to be taken off as well.
The second half began the same as the first as Dejan Kulusevski made it 2-0 to pretty much kill the game off. Another cross into the box that saw the Spurs player put the ball in the back of the net.
Erik ten Hag then brought on Casemiro who looked like he did give a shit and was a player who was relatively involved. He had an attempt that went just wide that would've given us all some hope had it gone in.
This was during a period of the game that saw the home side in the ascendancy and actually had some decent attacks one of which was that Casemiro chance.
Eventually though, Spurs got their third and that was that. No coming back. Not like there was a chance before.
Dominic Solanke was unmarked in the box from a Spurs corner which allowed him a tap-in from 3 yards out.
Old Trafford had a fair few empty seats by then. Even I didn't watch the final few minutes.
Weirdly though, I don't put much of the blame on the manager. Yes Erik ten Hag has to take some blame but what more could've he have done?
His team selection was pretty strong and wasn't completely surprising. We all know that whatever his tactics were, they were better than telling his players to not show up at all. And that's where I say it's on the players more than ten Hag. They simply didn't show up, something we've said too many times before even prior to the Dutchman joining United.
When this happens, then it doesn't matter what tactics, team selections, and substitutions you have, it all goes out the window with a wrong attitude.
But the Dutchman will be the one under the most pressure. As he is the manager, he does have to take some of the blame. He has a responsibility to get those players performing at a level worthy of United although they should have the right attitude regardless of whether the manager commands it of them or not.
He has now lost three of his first six, only has 7 points and sits 12th in the league. His team has only scored 1 goal at home in the PL and have lost their last two, both 3-0 to big 6 rivals.
The last time United lost back-to-back home games without scoring resulted in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being sacked. His final game also saw the then captain Harry Maguire get sent off. The team lost by a 3-goal margin that time as well.
Far too many similarities, innit?
All the stats are out.
United have now lost more Premier League games by a 3-goal margin since Sir Alex Ferguson retired (23 defeats in 424 games) than they did when Sir Alex was in charge (22 in 1035).
I suppose that says it all.
Ratings:
Onana - 5 Least shit of the match
Mazraoui - 4
De Ligt - 4
Martinez - 4
Dalot - WTF?
Ugarte - 4
Mainoo - 4
Garnacho - 5
Bruno - 3
Rashford - 3
Zirkzee - 2
Mount - 4
Casemiro - 5
Eriksen - 5
Hojlund - 5
Amad - 5
Erik ten Hag - 5
Final Thoughts
I have none. Good night.
Background Image: Pedro Porro, Christian Romero and Dominic Solanke celebrate Spurs' 3-0 win over Man Utd | Image credit: Getty Images via Eurosport