Key events
Answers on a postcard please.
FC Twente celebrated a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in midweek. On this evidence, they should have been gutted.
I’m off for a half-time brew.
There’s some debate in my inbox about the Fernandes red card. It’s possibly an orange, but when you make zero attempt to play the ball and tackle a player halfway up his shin, you can have few complaints. VAR was never ever going to overturn it.
As Joe Pearson points out: “And Bruno wasn’t even in your list of likely [red card’] suspects!
Here’s the incident (for UK readers):
HT: Man Utd 0-1 Spurs
Tottenham finish the half a goal up and a man up but that tells only half the story at Old Trafford, after a listless 45-minute performance from Manchester United that will bring increased scrutiny on Erik ten Hag.
Brennan Johnson scored the opener early on, but Spurs could and should be further in front. Half-time provides some welcome respite for the United players, and fans, and oh to be a fly on the wall in that home dressing room in the next 15 minutes. What happens next is anyone’s guess.
45 min + 2: Apparently Mainoo has an injury so that’s why he was subbed.
It won’t surprise you when I say that Spurs are dominating in first half stoppage time.
Five minutes are added at the end of the first half. United are a shambles at this stage.
45 min: United actually played with nine for a bit, as Ten Hag couldn’t get Mount on. Gary Neville, commentating on Sky, has steam coming out of his ears.
44 min: Having seen nearly all of United’s games this term, that sums up Fernandes’ season so far. He’s been way off his best and often cut a frustrated figure. That was the act of a frustrated man.
“You’re gonna cry in a minute,” sing the Spurs fans, as Ten Hag prepares Mason Mount to come on. Kobbie Mainoo (really?) is the man taken off.
RED CARD (Bruno Fernandes)
A straight red for the United captain. That was seriously rash.
The complaints continue but I suspect this will not be overturned by VAR. There was absolutely no attempt to play the ball and he scraped his foot down Maddison’s shin. Let’s see.
41 min: A flurry of set-pieces for Tottenham who are ending this half as they started it. On top. They keep it alive a few times after semi-clearances from United but nothing quite comes.
39 min: Big stop from Onana! Werner is one-on-one with the United keeper but he fluffs his lines. That came when United had committed too many men forward and Spurs, as they’ve done continually, cut them to ribbons.
38 min: Garnacho and Rashford have at least looked fairly dangerous on the break.
“The Spurs midfield are doing really well in circumstances they can’t possibly have trained for,” says Anthony Griffin on email. “They are being passed to consistently by both teams’ defences.”
37 min: Garnacho strikes the post! It would have been a brilliant volley, as he meets Rashford’s cross from deep on the left.
That gets the crowd going a little.
36 min: United finally get forward on the counter but there are groans as Zirkzee chooses to slow it down. It leads to very little in the end.
Can they produce anything before half-time? Just the one chance of note thus far.
34 min: Every time I look up from my screen, United have given the ball away. Mazraroui flies late into Udogie and is booked.
33 min: You have to give Spurs credit for the pressure they’re putting the hosts under. It’s ceaseless. Udogie sees another effort fly over the crossbar, though this one was deflected off De Ligt. The away side sense another goal.
Romero volleys wide from another cross.
30 min: James Maddison must think Christmas has come early. He’s running this game. Onana saves his shot, which came from another United error on the ball.
29 min: If you’re not watching and want a sense of the game, try to imagine the worse Man United performance you can imagine. It’s worse than that.
28 min: Last ditch stuff from Mazrauou to deny a lurking Werner at the back post. Good reading of the game and a solid clearance.
But back come Spurs … they’ve been on top for almost the whole of this game.
27 mins: Joshua Zirkzee hasn’t had the best game so far. He’s quality on the ball but isn’t quick and sometimes looks a poor fit for United when they’re trying to play transition, counterattacking football like they are today. Rasmus Højlund will surely come on at some stage.
“It should be 3-0 Spurs,” says Mary Waltz on email. “United look confused. But they are only down a goal, and Spurs need to take advantage of United’s sorry play before United get’s a lucky counter.”
United are finally revving up with 24 minutes on the clock, so Mary might well be proven right.
23 mins: The first chance of the game for United and it’s a big one! Garnacho slips it into Mainoo, whose cut-back isn’t inch-perfect for Zirkzee but it’s not bad. The big Dutchman stretches but Vicario just about collects it.
22 min: Some bad news for Spurs – Destiny Udogie is down and hurt. Postecoglou will be praying he’s OK; the left-back is a vital player in this side and there’s no natural replacement on the bench.
20 min: Johnson could have a brace, but hits the post! It’s knife through butter stuff from Spurs, swiftly worked across to the Welshman on the right, whose shot across the keeper strikes the upright.
With nearly a quarter of this game now played, United haven’t had a single shot, or barely a touch in Tottenham’s box.
An email:
Letting van de Ven run through the defence was pretty bad from United, but it’s really Dalot that needs to take the majority of the blame for that goal. He just stopped following Johnson back. He jogged as Johnson ran. They were practically together when van de Ven won the ball, but they didn’t show the same desire to get back. Why [Harry] Amass hasn’t had a chance is beyond me. Ten Hag is falling into the Solskjaer mindset of “it doesn’t matter how you play, you’re in the team” with regard to certain players. John Barry
17 mins: On three or four occasions already, United players have just passed the ball out of play. How did legislate for that if you’re Erik ten Hag?
15 min: It’s the battle of the Uruguay central midfielders today and on this early evidence Rodrigo Bentancur looks like giving Manuel Ugarte an absolute schooling. Ugarte has been chasing shadows – not all his fault – while Bentancur in that deep pivot role has been on point with his passing.
13 min: Udogie shoots over… there’s no respite for the hosts as it comes straight back at them.
United have been absolutely woeful so far.
11 min: It could be 2-0. Maddison dances through the United defence, taking a lovely one-two and very nearly dinking it over Onana, in the manner which he scored at home last week. The keeper gets (just) enough on it.
10 min: It’s all very frenetic as Onana plays a long ball over the top, which has Spurs running back. Rashford’s effort is parried by Vicario. He’s offside anyway.
8 min: There’s no blame on Rashford for that Spurs opening goal in my eyes. He was trying to go forward. Four or five players behind him had the chance to tackle Van de Ven and didn’t. Nobody was marking Brennan Johnson either.
7 min: United cannot live with the ferocity of the Tottenham press. Ugarte has had his pocket picked a couple of times already, this latest time nearly bringing about a chance for Maddison. There’s so much space for the Spurs attackers as to be absurd.
5 min: The murmurs of discontent around Old Trafford have begun already. United just haven’t started. Spurs have.
GOAL! Man Utd 0-1 Spurs (Johnson 3)
What a start for the visitors!
How on earth has Micky van de Ven travelled that far? Rashford overruns it as United look for the counter… then United are countered themselves, with Van de Ven racing on and on and on, eventually squaring from the byline to give Johnson a straightforward tap-in. Goodness me.
2 min: United are in their now customary 4-4-2 shape without the ball. Suspect it will be more of a 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-4 when in possession. Spurs are showing the early initiative thanks to their usual high pressing.
KICK OFF
‘Historically this is a glitzy one,’ says poetry’s Peter Drury on Sky. He also declares that both clubs are ‘charismatic’.
OK, enough, it’s finally time for the talking to stop. We are under way at Old Trafford. A wall of noise greets the first whistle from referee Chris Kavanagh.
Greater Manchester’s own Keely Hodgkinson is introduced to the crowd at Old Trafford before kickoff. Insert pun about a golden performance.
12 years ago today. Twelve years!
There are some red card candidates in both starting lineups to be fair to Richard. Romero, Udogie, Bentancur, Ugarte, Martinez …
Postecoglou tells Sky on Son’s absence: “Short turnaround from Thursday night, so just wasn’t right for today. We’ve had key players missing before.
“You’re facing a big club at an iconic stadium… you blokes [Sky] are here, so it’s the kinda game you want to be involved in.”
An email from Richard Hirst before kickoff:
Can’t see this finishing XI v XI. Lots of scope for both midfield confrontation and kamikaze last man defending. Red cards all round – yummy.
This is not what we want to see in the modern game.
Some good news for United. Their women’s side have just wrapped up a hard-fought 1-0 win at Everton. Spurs’ women take on Aston Villa soon.
Manchester United are winless in their past three against Tottenham; before that they’d won four on the bounce against them. The one thing we should be guaranteed today is goals. There’s only been one 1-0 in the past 14 meetings between these two sides – and no goalless draws between them for more than a decade.
The last time United failed to score at least two at home to Spurs was when they were hammered 6-1 at home by Jose Mourinho’s side in 2020 – day when Son scored two and United had 10 men for more than an hour. Ten Hag’s team have their issues and Postecoglou’s football can be scintillating … but it’s hard to envisage a repeat of that scoreline today.
It begs the question as to why, Erik, did you drop him to the bench for last week’s visit to Crystal Palace? Rashford traditionally plays well against Tottenham, mind, with three home goals against Spurs in the recent past.
🚨🚨🎙️| Erik ten Hag on Marcus Rashford:
“Last week, he scored three goals, so he’s in a good direction. Now he has to make the last step.” pic.twitter.com/rT95oQnc2F
— centredevils. (@centredevils) September 29, 2024
As for this game, here’s some pre-match reading around both sides, with Ten Hag calling for patience as he integrates some young signings at United and Spurs’ new boy Dom Solanke gaining confidence rapidly.
The final stages of Ipswich v Villa are looking very interesting indeed, if that’s your bag. Daniel Harris is all over it.
Team news
Manchester United: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martínez, Dalot; Mainoo, Ugarte; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee
Subs: Bayindir, Evans, Lindelof, Casemiro, Eriksen, Mount, Amad, Antony, Højlund.
Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Maddison, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Werner
Subs: Forster, Spence, Dragusin, Gray, Bissouma, Sarr, Bergvall, Moore, Lankshear.
Preamble
Good afternoon all. The headline act of this weekend’s football schedule is nearly upon us at Old Trafford and it has all the potential to be an absolute cracker. Two exciting but somewhat flawed teams, both with mixed records in the Premier League so far this season, go toe-to-toe. Will Ange Postecoglou’s high-line and high-risk football profit against an oft-vulnerable Manchester United? Or can Erik ten Hag’s off-the-cuff attackers, buoyed by a home crowd, give the Dutchman some much-needed respite. The midfield battle will be fascinating in itself, given solidity in the centre is the strength of neither side.
The pre-match news: Son Heung-min is missing for Spurs through injury, while for United this one comes too soon for Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and new signing Leny Yoro. Ten Hag has had a few attacking selection dilemmas to consider.
Kick off is at 4.30pm BST and the official team news will come in the next post. Excited for this one!
