Manchester United’s woeful performance against Tottenham showed a team which was simply second best, even before the sending off.
If there is one thing that sets you up for a defeat, then conceding at the start of each half will do it.
Tottenham went 1-0 up three minutes into the game, and then doubled their lead two minutes after half-time. Spurs eventually went 3-0 up in the 77th minute.
Between the second and third goals, 10-man Manchester United actually enjoyed a positive spell of possession and put Spurs under pressure, failing to take advantage.
Christian Eriksen’s poor set pieces
The icing on the cake on a terrible performance was Christian Eriksen’s woeful set piece taking.
The Dane came on as a second half substitute, and rather than helping United to get back into the game, he managed to harm the attempting fightback.
Eriksen took one corner, and one free-kick near the touchline, and completely wasted both set pieces, with his deliveries failing to beat the first man.
While set pieces have been part of Eriksen’s strengths through the years, they have also been a flaw too.
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His failure to beat the first man from corners was a persistent annoyance to Tottenham fans during his time at the club.
A conversation on X between two former Tottenham players back in 2020 spelt this out, with Micky Hazard writing after a match: “yes we scored from a corner, anything can happen when you miss the first man.”
Former Spurs defender Graham Roberts wrote in response: “You right @1MickyHazard we haven’t got Eriksen taken them.”
Eriksen’s poor set piece delivery will have given Tottenham fans flashbacks, albeit this time they benefitted from them.
In Sunday’s game, Eriksen’s poor crosses into the penalty box came at just the wrong time, killing Manchester United’s momentum at a time when one goal could have shaken the game up a little.
Minutes later Tottenham went onto score the third goal and truly kill the game off once and for all.
Eriksen could have expanded role
Christian Eriksen had started four games in a row prior to this match, coming back into favour for manager Erik ten Hag.
And he could end up with an expanded role over the next few weeks, with Bruno Fernandes receiving a red card against Tottenham.
Fernandes will miss United’s next three Premier League matches, and it is possible Eriksen is selected in an advanced role.
If he is selected to do so, then the veteran midfielder needs to start improving his set piece deliveries – anybody but the first man.