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It was a miserable Sunday for Erik ten Hag, as he stood in the rain watching his Man Utd side being thrashed by Tottenham. Gary Neville labelled it one of the worst performances under the Dutchman's reign. And the stats show why the pressure is piling on him…

'Lads, it's Man Utd'

Tottenham were once the team dismissed as flaky, easy to roll over and lacking character. But Sir Alex Ferguson's famous pre-match dismissal of the Londoners before a game at White Hart Lane would be more suitably addressed to the home side at Old Trafford these days.

Even before Bruno Fernandes' red card, Tottenham were sweeping through United's defences, with Micky van de Ven's early run past five red shirts before crossing to the unmarked Brennan Johnson a perfect demonstration of the wide open spaces available to the visitors.

Ten Hag: I'm not thinking about being sacked

Neville: Man Utd display 'absolutely disgusting'

Man Utd 0-3 Tottenham - Match report & highlights

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Tottenham have racked up a higher Expected Goals total at Old Trafford than Man Utd in the Premier League this season.

The 4.67xG tally Ange Postecoglou's side had is the worst conceded by United for 258 Premier League games.

The nine chances created by Dejan Kulusevski was the most by a visiting player in the top flight since Opta started tracking that metric in 2003/04.

No home comforts

Theatre of Dreams? It certainly is for opposition teams right now.

With Man Utd's defence as leaky as the roof at Old Trafford, Ten Hag has presided over eight Premier League defeats at home in the last 20 outings there. They hadn't lost any of the 20 before that.

If you have a season ticket there, you'll have had to sit through consecutive 3-0 horror shows, with Spurs strutting their stuff on the back of Liverpool's demolition job at the start of the month.

(That scoreline, by the way, has become a recurring theme - Ten Hag has lost five home games 3-0.)

The last time United lost consecutive home league games without scoring was in 2021 - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's final two home games before being sacked.

'First five, keep it tight...'

What's the final message to these Man Utd players before they head out onto the pitch? Whatever it is, it isn't working.

There were just 155 seconds on the clock when Johnson tucked in Spurs' opener.

United didn't even last that long at the start of the second half. Dejan Kulusevski struck 118 seconds after the break as Ten Hag's team talk went out the window again.

It's just the second time United have conceded twice inside three minutes of both halves in a Premier League. The other occasion was under Ten Hag, too - in February 2023 against Leeds.

Ten Hag also saw his side concede after 88 seconds in August 2023 against Nottingham Forest. Slow starters? It's a habit that shouldn't be dismissed so casually.

'Don't expect goals'

It's not just out of possession where Man Utd are in bad shape. Their long-standing finishing issues continue to limit any progress Ten Hag would hope to make.

United are the biggest underperformers for attacking stats in the Premier League this season, bagging five goals from an Expected Goals total of 10.6.

There was no big chance created by the home side against Spurs on Sunday but their conversion figures of 17 out of 19 - 10.53 per cent - continues to rank as the second-worst in the league in that metric. Only relegation-threatened Southampton (8.33 per cent) have a worse conversion rate of Opta-defined big chances.

Bruno Fernandes' goal drought has been well-documented, but new signing Joshua Zirkzee has missed all four of his big chances, Alejandro Garnacho has missed four out of five and there are plenty of other offenders when it comes to final-third threat.

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Five goals from their first six games is United's second-worst return (2008/09), while only Southampton - who allowed United to score three - are the only side with fewer goals than Ten Hag's men, who have drawn a blank in a league-high three games so far.

Brentford are among nine sides to have scored more league goals than United since Ten Hag was appointed.

Ten Hag's record-breakers

Not a record in a good way, obviously. Ten Hag logged Man Utd's worst Premier League finishing position with eighth place last season. They're currently 12th with just seven points, their joint-fewest after six Premier League games. A new low beckons.

Money well spent?

These stats didn't come cheap for Man Utd. They have shelled out over £600m on signings for Erik ten Hag and the head coach can't escape the fact that Sunday's squad was very much the team he had built.

Six of the starters against Spurs - Andre Onana, Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee - were signed by Ten Hag. Two more - Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho - were handed their debuts by him.

With fellow Ten Hag signings Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro coming off the bench, 12 of the 16 players used by United against Spurs were either signed by Ten Hag or brought into the team by him.

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Tottenham produced an utterly dominant performance as they beat miserable Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford.

Brennan Johnson scored early following Micky van de Ven's driving run and though Bruno Fernandes' red card made United's task trickier, Spurs were superior throughout. Goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke better reflected their superiority.

The result leaves Erik ten Hag's team languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table and the United manager facing fresh questions about what exactly he is building. Back-to-back wins for Ange Postecoglou's side lift them up to eighth.

As it happened: How it unfolded at Old Trafford

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Tottenham overwhelmed United from the kick-off with Van de Ven's extraordinary run setting up the breakthrough goal. The home side were trying to counter but in stepped the big centre-back, setting the tone by surging half the length of the pitch.

Johnson converted unmarked at the far post for his fourth goal in four games and came close to adding a second soon after when he hit the post following another sweeping move down the Spurs left. There was even a Cristian Romero scissor kick just wide.

Alejandro Garnacho did volley against the outside of the post but it offered the briefest of respite. The first of two Timo Werner chances at the other end was far clearer but he could not beat Andre Onana either time. United were abject, the gulf in quality alarming.

Fernandes' red card late in the first half, harsh given he slipped before connecting with James Maddison's ankle, only exacerbated the issue. United could not regroup, Kulusevski doubling the advantage with a cushioned volley soon after the interval.

United did show some spirit, making for an entertaining game even with them down two goals one player, but it was too little and too late. Any hope of an unlikely comeback ended when Solanke slid in from close range to make it three. Spurs were superb.

Awful afternoon for Ten Hag

Since losing heavily at home to Liverpool, there have been enough hints of promise to have the more optimistic United supporters believing that Ten Hag might be building an exciting new team but afternoons like this test that theory to its absolute limit.

While the officials were booed from the field as a result of Fernandes' harsh red card, that incident could not mask the fact that United were exposed as an abject outfit long before that. It was damning for Ten Hag as this was close to his strongest side.

Fernandes' form is a bigger issue than his sending off. If Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo are to be the future of United's midfield, it looks a problem in the present. Is Joshua Zirkzee really capable of scoring the goals required of a United striker?

There were a series of individual errors when building from the back but so long is the list of culprits that the finger of blame surely points at the coach who appears unable to set them up in a style with which they are comfortable. The patterns are still absent.

Even with 11, the gaps in midfield were astonishing, half the team high up the pitch, the defence still so deep. If it is not what Ten Hag wants, why is it still happening in his third season? If it is, the explanation for it is yet to be forthcoming. Patience is running out.

United's new ownership team are known to have looked for alternatives in the summer before not only sticking with the Dutchman but backing him in the transfer market. But they need to see much more than this. Twelfth with a negative goal difference.

Ten Hag: Below the level we expect

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag speaking in the press conference:

"What I saw in the first 30 minutes is below the level that we can expect from a Manchester United team. Even when we concede the goal, stay calm and control the game, stick together, stick to the plan and we have a foothold in the game."

Asked if the issues were psychological rather than tactical, he added: "Definitely. The players got very stressed after conceding so quickly and made very bad decisions on the ball when they had the chance to play over. They should have done better than this."

On the subject of his future, when quizzed on whether those above him will conclude that he is not the man to take the club forward, he said:

"No, I am not thinking about this. We all made together this decision to stay together, as an ownership, a leadership group in the summer, also we made the decision from a clear review what we have to improve and how we want to construct a squad.

"But we knew it will take some time, how the window went, some players late in like Ugarte. Also, we have to make some improvement in organisation, some injuries, we need some time.

"We are all on one page or in one boat together, the ownership, the staff and the players as well. I don't have that concern."

Bruno: Never a red card

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes speaking to Sky Sports:

"I take him with my ankle, it's a clear foul but never a red card. Even Maddison when he gets up, he said it was a foul but never a red card.

"For me, it's not a good decision.

"I let my team-mates down with one man down. I do appreciate everything they did on the pitch, it was tough for them.

"We didn't start the game well. When it's 11 vs 11, the result is on their side then we get the situation with the red card.

"They did very well, they tried. We conceded another two goals, but it was difficult to cover all the spaces.

"It's many good things we can take from this. The resilience of the team was there and I'm proud of them."

Ange: Outstanding performance

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou speaking to Sky Sports:

"I thought it was an outstanding performance.

"We started the game well, scored a great goal and probably should have had two or three. The pressure then overwhelms them and they get the red card.

"After that, I thought we controlled the game well. Just an outstanding effort from all the lads."

Story of the match in stats...

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Paul Merson is back to preview the Super Sunday clash between Manchester United and Tottenham, live on Sky Sports, and the Magic Man thinks defeat for United would crank the pressure up on boss Erik ten Hag again...

'Huge game in top-four mini league'

Manchester United vs Tottenham is a huge game.

You've got your little leagues within the Premier League. One league is Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. Basically, who's going to finish top of Premier League from those three sides.

Then you go into the next league and for me, you're looking at Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea, Newcastle and Aston Villa. You are looking at those five teams and thinking who is going to get fourth place and qualify for the Champions League.

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After that, you look at the bottom and there's about five teams at the bottom who are in trouble, and that's another league.

United against Spurs is a top-of-the-table clash in the league to reach the Champions League.

Neither side is winning the league, in my opinion. But the goal is to qualify for the Champions League, and with that in mind this is a really important football match.

'Both sides will want points on the board fast'

It is a huge game. There will be people that say there's 30-odd games left but I don't agree. You need points now.

In basketball, why do they play the first three quarters? Because you've got to get the points to go to the fourth quarter and have a chance of winning the game.

In the past in England, look back at Jose Mourinho's Chelsea team. Every time he won the league at Chelsea, he got off to a flyer. He just blows everybody away early doors and then that's it, there's no chance for any other side to recover.

They never came from behind to win their last 10 games of the season. They just went bang, crash and blew everyone away.

This is where I think some people miss a trick. Look back at Sunday and Manchester City vs Arsenal. That was another big game. if Arsenal had lost the game they would have been five points behind Manchester City. That is a huge gap, especially to City, at any stage of the season.

However, there would have been people flagging the amount of games left but to me it doesn't matter. You get the points when you can whatever time in the season. You need the points. The margins are so fine up and down the league.

These are massive football matches and if you don't go into it with that attitude, you won't get where you need to get. It's also how you win league championships. That's how you win Premier League. Every game counts.

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'Pressure will never be far away for Ten Hag'

I don't think Ange Postecoglou is under pressure. In my view, he's doing okay at Spurs.

They aren't top, I know, but no disrespect, they aren't one of the biggest teams in the league.

People will say I'm saying that just because of my Arsenal connection but they aren't the biggest club in the world.

On the other hand, Manchester United are one of the biggest clubs in the world.

They should be finishing in the top four at the very least with the heritage they have as a club.

That is why the pressure is always seemingly on Erik ten Hag. He has to get in the top four, minimum, and that is difficult with potentially only one place up for grabs with Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

That's why this is such a big match. Lose at home to Tottenham and that pressure will start to crank up again.

'United need to find consistency'

Last season, if you go through the Manchester United results, they always had a nice game at the right time. They always seemed to have a game at home where you thought they would get a result. And they got those results at just the right time. A result to paper over the cracks.

Somehow, Manchester United need to find some consistency.

Last weekend, they could have beaten Crystal Palace. They had good chances to win the game, but to be fair so did Palace.

If they had have snuck a win, you start to think they might get on some sort of a roll. But that never seems to happen for this United team and Ten Hag. They will never go and win five, six, seven games on the trot.

They always seem to be up against it.

'Man Utd biggest club in world but not biggest team in world'

Manchester United are the biggest club in the world, but they're not one of the biggest teams in the world. Far from it. It's not even close, and that's where we forget.

Being one of the biggest clubs in the world is different from being one of biggest teams in the world. We probably need to get used to that with Manchester United. I'm still treating them like the great United teams of the past. They were a championship side year in, year out. Not anymore. They are lucky if they are a top-four team.

It does make you think about where it has all gone wrong at Old Trafford.

It's not like they've built a new stadium like Arsenal and Tottenham. They are still in the same stadium and it still has holes in the roof. Why has it gone so horribly wrong at the club? It's tough to answer.

It doesn't really matter if Ten Hag has the support of the fans. It doesn't really matter if he has the support of all the people behind the scenes at Manchester United now.

The players at the club have got to be behind the manager.

If they are, Ten Hag has every chance of succeeding. The players are the most important thing.

'Not much wrong at Spurs'

If you take away the Arsenal game, Spurs should have won every game.

They were bang unlucky at Leicester on the opening day. if they score a second goal it would have become a rout.

They then go and slaughter Everton before getting beat by Newcastle. I do not know how they got beat at Newcastle.

It wasn't great against Arsenal, I know. But at the end of the day they only lost to a set-piece goal. Now we are talking about Arsenal as Manchester City's nearest challenger so the defeat is not the worst in the world.

Brentford then get swept away comfortably. What I'm getting at is there isn't a lot wrong at Tottenham.

'Problem for Spurs is being judged against Arsenal'

The problem at Spurs is they are always being judged up against Arsenal.

It's a bit like Manchester United. if Manchester City weren't where they were then it wouldn't be so hard to swallow for United.

All I'd say about Spurs is be careful what you wish for.

Look at West Ham. I was waiting to practise my dance on Strictly last Saturday and one of the floor managers came up to me and said Chelsea were 2-0 up. He was a West Ham fan. I asked him what was going on and his reply was that they haven't even got Europe to look back on.

That really struck me. West Ham had some really great times under David Moyes but they got rid. Just be careful.

With Tottenham, i find people have short memories too.

It really wasn't good for a few years at Tottenham. But now, I like watching Tottenham. I think they're a good team.

I don't see Ange being in any trouble. I really like him.

'United a good match-up for Spurs'

Against United, I think it is a good match-up for Spurs.

I see there being plenty of goals with Tottenham causing United a lot of major problems. Spurs will press and building from the back is not one of United's strong points.

Ange plays one way. He goes out on the front foot and gets his side playing to win football matches.

It doesn't matter if they are playing a lower-league side in the cup or one of the top sides in the Premier League, they will have a go.

That's what I like about him as well. He won't sit there and play 10 behind the ball. At Old Trafford, he'll go out and put Manchester United under pressure.

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