Why Man United should sack Erik Ten Hag after tactical horror show let Spurs run riot at Old Trafford

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MANCHESTER UNITED were thrashed 3-0 by Tottenham with Erik Ten Hag's men run ragged for most of Sunday afternoon.

The under-fire boss got the vote of confidence over the summer and signed a new contract - but after just six Premier League games into the new season, he is once again facing the sack.

Spurs carved the Red Devils open for the first time after just three minutes when Micky van de Ven's stunning run set Brennan Johnson up for a tap-in.

And it proved a sign of things to come as United's tactics proved disastrous.

Despite being down to ten men, there were huge red flags and there might be no way back for Ten Hag - or Diogo Dalot.

Poor pressing

Man Utd defend in a 4-4-2 shape but get the system horribly wrong.

Their defensive lines are so far apart and Rodrigo Bentancur had a field day from kick off.

The two that lead United's press put no pressure on the ball and Tottenham could find a man in midfield to start attacks with ease.

Bentancur had the freedom of Old Trafford and gave Spurs a numerical advantage in the centre of the park as Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte were occupied by Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison.

Bruno Fernandes, while he was on the pitch, then started chasing the ball and left Pedro Porro unmarked. It was shambolic.

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Surely, he should have dropped deeper to go 3 vs 3 in midfield?

Either the tactics are wrong or the players are not carrying them out properly - either way it is bad for Ten Hag.

Ugarte's nightmare

Spurs attack using the half spaces - between the centre and the wings.

But United did not block these corridors effectively and new boy Ugarte - brought in to bring some stability - struggled against Maddison and looked unsure where he needed to be.

They were also pressed relentlessly as Ange Postecoglou's side had triggers for when to close down - if Dominic Solanke can get after the ball, the whole team squeezes with him.

Horror mistakes

Van de Ven's run is exceptional - but he is allowed to go driving into that half-space corridor.

Noussair Mazraoui is sold a dummy by Timo Werner's run and Ugarte does not come across in time.

Matthijs de Ligt fails to cut off the marauding run as Solanke cleverly drags Lisandro Martinez out of position to give Johnson space for the tap-in at the far post.

But Dalot must hang his head in shame. As Van de Ven sets off, he is level with the eventual goalscorer on the half-way line on the opposite flank.

Yet by the time the ball goes into the back of the net, Dalot is about ten yards behind Johnson.

He switches off and gives up - it cannot be a lack of pace given the size of the gap - and is already apologising seemingly before it becomes 1-0.

An unforgivable lack of discipline and effort, fans in the Stretford End could be forgiven for not wanting to see last season's player of the year again.

Kulusevski's genius

Insanely fit Kulusevski covers so much ground and against Man Utd was getting close to Solanke to support him.

With Ugarte and Mainoo already occupied, the Swedish midfielder drifted inside and gave them another headache.

His incredible stats show he created NINE chances during the game - four more than any United player has managed IN TOTAL at Old Trafford this season.

It further underlined how United failed to get a grip in Sunday's mauling.

Onana keeps the score down

From Ten Hag's perspective, thankfully Werner played instead of Heung-min Son or it could have been 6 or 7.

The ex-Chelsea man missed several huge chances - but Onana should get credit for the saves he made.

Werner has lost confidence in his finishing and the keeper charged out quickly when he was through on goal before stopping to narrow the angle down and make the save.

A solitary positive on a bleak day for the United flops and their manager, who appear to be completely out of sync and out of ideas.

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