Manchester United – Tottenham: Tottenham Hotspur throttled brutal 10-man Manchester United to the tune of a 6-1 win at Old Trafford on Sunday.
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Heung-min Son scored twice and Harry Kane had two goals and an assist to join Tanguy Ndombele and Serge Aurier on the score sheet.
Bruno Fernandes scored a first-half penalty for United, who saw Anthony Martial sent off with the score 2-1 in the 28th minute.
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It was the first time Man United allowed four goals in a half in their history.
Tottenham pulls into fifth, the head of four teams on seven points. United is 16th with three points in three league outings.
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Manchester United – Tottenham notes and numbers
1. Best Spurs half under Mourinho? Few teams look better than Tottenham when their tails are up. Heung-min Son and Harry Kane scoring goals in heaps is nothing new. In fact this is the second time they’ve rattled an opponent this year. But the numbers on their first half dominance at Old Trafford are nuts (SofaScore):
- 13 shots
- five on target
- 10 in the box
- Three big chances
- 8-of-8 dribbles
- 14-4 advantage in tackles
Unpacking that crazy start is tough but hand Mourinho a drink of his choosing for choosing the 3-man midfield of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Moussa Sissoko, and Tanguy Ndombele. The hard men were too much for a disinterested Paul Pogba and slowed Nemanja Matic.
2. Worst United half under Solskjaer ever?: Tottenham deserves credit for picking itself up after a first-minute penalty and absolutely throttling Manchester United at Old Trafford, crowd or not.
And as much as United saw a red card to Anthony Martial which was about acting as much as anything, they could’ve been down two men for Eric Bailly’s atrocious step on a prone Kane’s heel.
Sloppy, disorganized, classless, and just plain bad. This was the latest episode of “Bruno Needs Help,” which is crazy given the attacking talent (Marcus Rashford had some moments).
3. Heinous Harry and Base Bailly: There will be a temptation to blame Paul Pogba but the Frenchman still was stuck into 17 duels and had three tackles to go with two interceptions.
There were so many poor performances from United but their center backs were the worst. A shambles typified by miserable decision making and execution on Ndombele’s opener, Maguire was barely existent. Bailly was the better of the pair but it was about temperament not football for him. The Ivorian could’ve been sent off twice here’s how they finished number wise.
Maguire’s numbers over 90 minutes: one interception, 3 of 5 duels, one error leading to goal.
Man of the Match
After being held without a goal or assist in a 1-0 loss to Everton on opening day, Harry Kane has a goal, assist, or both in every match besides a 20-minute cameo in the League Cup win over Chelsea which saw him score the decisive sixth penalty.
Kane’s numbers this season (PL only between parentheses)
- Matches: 8 (4)
- Minutes: 569 (354)
- Goals: 8 (3)
- Assists: 7 (6)
HARRY KANE MAKES IT 3-1! #MyPLMorning pic.twitter.com/4OLENK3owf
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) October 4, 2020
Manchester United – Tottenham recap
United won a penalty within 40 seconds as Bruno Fernandes’ marvelous passing sent Anthony Martial through on goal and Davinson Sanchez got a piece of the Frenchman.
Fernandes’ hopping penalty run-up may be solved soon but it wasn’t Sunday. 1-0.
It was level before the clock hit 4:00, Harry Maguire’s awful header allowing Erik Lamale to pester United’s back line enough for Ndombele to smash home the loose ball from close range.
Make it three goals in seven minutes for this bonkers game, as Son raced between Eric Bailly and Luke Shaw on a Harry Kane quick restart to finish past David De Gea in style.
Fernandes slipped Rashford through for a shot that hit the far post in the 20th minute, though the AR’s flag was up.
Son had a mistouch on a 26th-minute breakaway and De Gea intervened before making a save on Serge Aurier within a minute. Then Ndombele tested De Gea before Lamela missed wide of the frame.
Martial was then sent off after slapping Lamela in the chin from behind. The Argentine elbowed him in a pre-corner kick scrum and it wouldn’t have been surprising if both were sent off or Martial’s offense pardoned to a yellow (although laws of the game…).
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Halftime subs of Fred and Scott McTominay to shore up the midfield made sense for United, right up until Hojbjerg hit a perfect pass behind the remaining Pogba for a sprinting Aurier to blast past De Gea.
United’s Spanish keeper denied Kane in the 72nd, but the big striker got his second from the spot in the 79th after a sliding Pogba was whistled for a handball in the box.
Five? It's FIVE 🖐 #MyPLMorning pic.twitter.com/rIkF3UpgW6
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) October 4, 2020
