Manchester United 0-3 Tottenham
by James Nalton
at Old Trafford
TOTTENHAM Hotspur turned on the style against Manchester United on Sunday, scoring three goals without reply at Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandes was sent off for the home side just before half time, but Spurs had been dominant even before having the extra man.
They had taken the lead in the third minute when Micky van de Ven surged through a non-existent United midfield, taking it past the defence to the byline and crossing for Brennan Johnson to turn home at the far post.
Timo Werner and James Maddison missed good chances after that opener but the visitors kept creating.
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou spoke of a calmness within the team that hasn’t always existed this season, as they created chance after chance.
“I got a sense that the players weren’t dwelling on missed chances,” Postecoglou said.
“They were just focused on trying to go again and create another one. There was a real calmness about the lads today.
“I thought we played really well at Leicester, we played well at Newcastle and against Arsenal, but we missed chances and it felt like there was desperation about us trying to get another one, whereas the last three games we’ve had a real calmness about us.
“I think it’s helped that we have a focal point in Dom [Solanke] up there who’s a real presence, attracts attention, takes attention from other players, and works really well in our unit.”
An opposition side going a man down can often make things more difficult. United manager Erik ten Hag took off striker Joshua Zirkzee and replaced him with defensive midfielder Casemiro at half time in an attempt to shut up shop.
But Spurs ruined Ten Hag’s plan straight away when Dejan Kulusevski scored just two minutes into the second half following good work from Johnson.
Solanke got in on the act, turning in a corner kick from Lucas Bergvall that had been headed on by Pape Matar Sarr.
On this form, Spurs look like one of the best teams in the division, and if they can keep calm and carry on taking their chances, it might soon start to show in the league table.