Manchester United thrashed and humiliated at Old Trafford
Tottenham deepened Manchester United's woes with a crushing 3-0 win, leaving Erik ten Hag’s team embarrassed and struggling to get going in the Premier League. With four slip-ups in six matches, the Red Devils are in a serious slump, raising questions about the manager’s ability to turn things around.
Nothing is working for the Red Devils. The green shoots of progress Ten Hag showed after winning the 2023 Carabao Cup and the 2024 FA Cup now seem like ancient history. United just can’t get going in the league, and it’s pretty much clear that, for the 11th season in a row, there’s no title in sight. The problems are many, and the disorganization is constant. United will need to seriously improve if they want to salvage anything from this nightmare start.
And that’s after showing some signs of life with a 3-0 win over Southampton and a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace. But they fell back into chaos, once again putting up a dismal display, with some shockers from players like Diogo Dalot, who had a particularly awful game.
United’s left-back was a disaster in the first half, and Marcus Rashford wasn’t far behind in the first 45 minutes, which sealed their fate. Amid the team’s overall collapse, Alejandro Garnacho was one of the few bright spots, alongside André Onana, trying to save some face.
Tottenham, meanwhile, came to Old Trafford looking for a boost themselves, as they hadn't started the season well either, with three stumbles in five games. But after their 3-1 win against Brentford, they were back in business, and another three points, especially against a potential European rival, were crucial.
United started falling apart almost immediately, just three minutes in. Rashford lost the ball near midfield, and Micky van de Ven went charging toward Onana’s goal. The Dutch defender showed incredible power, reaching the byline and whipping the ball into the box, where Brennan Johnson was waiting to slot it home and make it 1-0.
That goal totally unraveled United. For the rest of the first half, they were at Tottenham’s mercy, with Spurs holding nearly 70% possession. United only managed a couple of dangerous counterattacks, with Garnacho almost scoring with a volley that smashed off the post.
That was the only moment United showed any spark. Things got worse right before halftime when Bruno Fernandes was sent off with a straight red card for a nasty tackle on James Maddison. That was game over. United, who had barely hung on to the scoreline, completely crumbled after their captain’s exit.
Before the red card, Timo Werner had a couple of chances to finish United off but once again showed his struggles when one-on-one with the keeper. Onana denied him twice—once in the first half and again in the second.
Werner does well when he has no time to think and can finish quickly, but when given space to overthink, he stumbles. Onana read him both times and kept Spurs from grabbing a second, which also nearly came from a Romero acrobatic attempt that just missed the post.
At halftime, Spurs were up 1-0, though it could’ve been more, and United looked lost, down to 10 men. Things got worse right after the break when Dejan Kulusevski doubled Tottenham’s lead with a cool finish from a Johnson assist down the right flank, ending any hope of a United comeback.
Werner missed another one-on-one, United showed some fight in the last 15 minutes, but Solanke sealed the deal with a header from a corner, leaving Ten Hag’s side with just seven points out of 18 and sinking further into crisis. Tottenham, on the other hand, showed signs of recovery and moved up to eighth place in the Premier League.