Goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes help Manchester United to a 2-0 win over 10-man Tottenham, who saw captain Cristian Romero sent off for the second time this season in the Premier League.
MATCH REPORT: Man Utd 2-0 Tottenham
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank called it the "perfect storm".
Other assessments are available of Cristian Romero's lunge at Manchester United midfielder Casemiro half an hour into their Premier League game at Old Trafford.
At the end of a week during which Romero has been at the centre of attention after he publicly condemned the Spurs hierarchy for their failure to invest in the squad, the Argentina defender once again left Frank to defend him
According to the Premier League Match Centre, Romero's challenge met the threshold for serious foul play because it was "made with excessive force and endangered an opponent".
Former Premier League official Darren Cann agreed with the decision.
"Romero makes a forceful challenge on Casemiro which is, in law, undoubtedly a serious foul play tackle," Cann told BBC Sport.
"It was a really excellent decision from referee Michael Oliver, who was brilliantly positioned."
Not even Frank could argue Oliver was wrong to send Romero off.
"The red card is a red card," he said. "But I have watched it back five times, he clearly tried to go for the ball."
Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario also defended his team-mate on TNT Sports.
"He's our captain and today he made a mistake," he said. "But we know the player he is.
"He's going to come back stronger, for sure, and he'll help us throughout the rest of the season."
But Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy was clear Romero "let his team-mates down", adding: "It is irresponsible, especially after a week where he's been talking about recruitment and a lack of players.
"He's the captain, the leader - he needs to do better."
Frank has made it clear Romero will still be captain when he returns for that Liverpool game, which will split two Champions League last-16 ties, when Juventus and Atletico Madrid are two of the four opponents they could meet.
In the meantime, he must hope for more level heads because Romero's dismissal led to another defeat. And, with local rivals West Ham starting to pick up points, the spectre of relegation is far too close for comfort.
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank called it the "perfect storm".
Other assessments are available of Cristian Romero's lunge at Manchester United midfielder Casemiro half an hour into their Premier League game at Old Trafford.
At the end of a week during which Romero has been at the centre of attention after he publicly condemned the Spurs hierarchy for their failure to invest in the squad, the Argentina defender once again left Frank to defend him.
The match, which was goalless when he was shown a straight red card for the foul on Casemiro, ended in a 2-0 defeat for Spurs.
"He apologised to his team-mates in the dressing room," said Frank afterwards, having argued on Friday that too much attention had been paid to Romero's social media outburst and defended the "passion" of his captain.
The facts were quite simple at Old Trafford.
Romero overhit the ball slightly, so was going to be marginally late as he went to play a pass. The ball flicked up off Casemiro's left foot, which meant Romero struck his opponent's right with full force on the shin, before he played the ball.
There was little time - but those are the fine margins that exist in the Premier League.
According to the Premier League Match Centre, Romero's challenge met the threshold for serious foul play because it was "made with excessive force and endangered an opponent".
Former Premier League official Darren Cann agreed with the decision.
"Romero makes a forceful challenge on Casemiro which is, in law, undoubtedly a serious foul play tackle," Cann told BBC Sport.
"It was a really excellent decision from referee Michael Oliver, who was brilliantly positioned."
Not even Frank could argue Oliver was wrong to send Romero off.
"The red card is a red card," he said. "But I have watched it back five times, he clearly tried to go for the ball."
As Romero had already been sent off once this season, against Liverpool in December, he will now miss Tottenham's next four Premier League games through suspension. He will not feature again domestically until the rematch with Arne Slot's side on 15 March.
But there are more damning statistics than that.
Twice - in different games against Brentford - the Premier League's Key Match Incidents panel concluded he got away with tackles he should have been sent off for.
Nonetheless, Romero has still become the first player to be red carded twice in the Premier League this season. He now has four in the league since he joined Tottenham in 2021, the most of any player during this period, and the joint-most for anyone from the club in the competition overall.
He has six Spurs red cards in total.
"I didn't know that," admitted Frank when informed of Romero's unhappy record in response to a previous answer.
Unsurprisingly, Frank was asked about the wisdom of having Romero as his captain. In terms of leading by example, it was a very bad look.
"No, there is not," said the Dane in response to whether there is any regret about Romero's status.
"I think it is fair to say he doesn't have any intention to get a red card after 28 minutes. He is sorry for the incident. He apologised to his team-mates in the dressing room. He is one of the most important players."
Frank's answer to whether he would consider taking the armband off Romero was predictable.
"No," he said.
It was the same succinct manner he used later to a point that Romero was not helping a team that were already without 10 senior players at kick-off, and subsequently also lost full-back Destiny Udogie to injury.
"No, it doesn't," he said.
Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario also defended his team-mate on TNT Sports.
"He's our captain and today he made a mistake," he said. "But we know the player he is.
"He's going to come back stronger, for sure, and he'll help us throughout the rest of the season."
But Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy was clear Romero "let his team-mates down", adding: "It is irresponsible, especially after a week where he's been talking about recruitment and a lack of players.
"He's the captain, the leader - he needs to do better."
Murphy wasn't the only pundit critical of Romero.
"You just know he's got that switch," Joe Hart, who played for Tottenham among others, told TNT Sports. "He doesn't need to do that. He just smashes him.
"Is he a good leader? I don't know. He must be from what we don't see because Thomas Frank seems to stand by him no matter what."
Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves was similarly unimpressed.
"When he looks at it back he'll think 'why did I do that?'," he said.
"He's club captain. He needs to be leading by example - but that's not the example he needs to be setting."
Frank has made it clear Romero will still be captain when he returns for that Liverpool game, which will split two Champions League last-16 ties, when Juventus and Atletico Madrid are two of the four opponents they could meet.
In the meantime, he must hope for more level heads because Romero's dismissal led to another defeat. And, with local rivals West Ham starting to pick up points, the spectre of relegation is far too close for comfort.
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'Not what Frank needs his captain to be doing'
Man Utd v Spurs (12:30 GMT)
Clinton Morrison
Former Premier League striker on BBC Radio 5 Live Premier League Kick-Off
At the moment Frank is under huge pressure and this is not what he needs his captain to be doing. If he takes away the armband then how is that going to affect Romero?
He is still one of the best defenders that they have at the football club, especially his partnership with Van de Ven. You could give it to him, but then how does Romero feel about that?
'You want that team to know what the rules are'
Man Utd v Spurs (12:30 GMT)
David James
Former England goalkeeper on BBC Radio 5 Live Premier League Kick-Off
If Frank wants to show that he is the manager, then he takes the captaincy off Romero, gives it to whoever and tells the rest of the team that if anyone else wants to carry on then they are out of the picture.
Best player or not, you want that team to know what the rules are, rather than giving them the idea that they are allowed to do what they want while the manager is suffering.
Spurs 'dealt' with Romero situation internally
Man Utd v Spurs (12:30 GMT)
Spurs boss Thomas Frank was unsurprisingly asked about Cristian Romero's social media comments in the build-up to this game.
The Argentine said it was "disgraceful" Spurs had just 11 senior players available for last Sunday's draw with Manchester City.
"I think if you want to know what he meant you of course need to ask him. I think that is the right way to take that question," said Frank.
"Cuti is a very passionate character and player that wants to leave everything on the pitch. He is very ambitious and wants to win every single time - sometimes when you are like that, sometimes there can be an outburst, which happened this time.
"It is something we of course dealt with and dealt with internally.
"There are a lot of ways of doing things. Cuti has been very good for us this season and the past seasons and I think that is very important to be aware of. I would not have done it. That is my message."
Man Utd unchanged, Van de Ven return one of three Spurs changes
Man Utd v Spurs (12:30 GMT)
Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at Old Trafford
Michael Carrick goes with an unchanged line-up as Manchester United look for a fourth win in a row since he was installed as Ruben Amorim's successor until the end of the season.
The only change to Carrick's entire matchday squad is on the bench, where Scotland Under-19 midfielder Tyler Fletcher gets the nod ahead of young forward Shea Lacey.
Manchester United XI: Lammens, Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw, Casemiro, Mainoo, Amad, Bruno Fernandes, Cunha, Mbeumo.
Subs: Bayindir, Mazraoui, Zirkzee, Malacia, Yoro, Ugarte, Heaven, Sesko, T Fletcher.
Thomas Frank makes three changes to the Tottenham side that fought back to draw at Manchester City last week.
Key defender Micky van de Ven is back from injury to partner skipper Cristian Romero in central defence.
Wilson Odebert and Pape Sarr replace Yves Bissouma and Randal Kolo Muani, who drop to the bench.
Tottenham XI: Vicario, João Palhinha, Romero, Van de Ven, Gray, Gallagher, Odebert, Udogie, Sarr, Simons, Solanke.
Subs: Kinsky, Dragusin, Bissouma, Tel, Kolo Muani, Souza, Olusesi, Byfield, Williams-Barnett.
'We hope to take that performance into this one'
Man Utd v Tottenham (12:20 GMT)
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham midfielder Conor Gallagher speaking to TNT Sports: "The club is amazing and everyone is so nice, which made it really easy to settle in quickly. The important thing is what happens on the pitch and hopefully I can perform well today and help the team."
On facing Man Utd: "Everyone knows how big the club is, they have hit some form recently. We know it will be a tough game and we're really excited for it."
On building momentum from the 2-2 draw against Manchester City: "It was a really good second half and really important to have that performance and come back into the match. We hope to take that into this one."
Classy Casemiro back to his best
Man Utd v Spurs (12:30 GMT)
Chris Adams
BBC Sport journalist
With no arrivals in the winter transfer window, Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro seem almost certain to continue as United's first-choice pairing at the base of midfield, as they have done in Carrick's three consecutive wins.
The Brazilian, who last month confirmed he will leave at the end of the season, has been in fine form recently, opening the scoring with a header in last week's dramatic 3-2 success against Fulham â since his debut in August 2022, no midfielder has scored more headers in the Premier League than Casemiro's seven.
The home side conceded twice when he was replaced by Manuel Ugarte in the second half of that game; astonishingly, they've let in more league goals this season with Ugarte on the pitch than with Casemiro, despite the Uruguayan playing less than half the number of minutes.
Michael Carrick will be looking to maintain his 100% record in his second spell in charge of Manchester United in the Saturday 12:30 GMT kick-off at the expense of his former club Tottenham Hotspur, who are winless in their last six league games.
In Roy Keane's retelling of a Sir Alex Ferguson team talk ahead of a game against Spurs, the Scot reportedly told his players: "Lads, it's Tottenham," and left it at that, such was his confidence. Recently though, things have been less straightforward for the Old Trafford outfit, who will mark the 68th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster before kick-off.
The Red Devils are winless in their past six league games against Spurs (drawn three, lost three), their joint-longest run without a league win against the north London side â and one that extends to eight games in all competitions.
Classy Casemiro back to his best
With no arrivals in the winter transfer window, Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro seem almost certain to continue as United's first-choice pairing at the base of midfield, as they have done in Carrick's three consecutive wins.
The Brazilian, who last month confirmed he will leave at the end of the season, has been in fine form recently, opening the scoring with a header in last week's dramatic 3-2 success against Fulham â since his debut in August 2022, no midfielder has scored more headers in the Premier League than Casemiro's seven.
The home side conceded twice when he was replaced by Manuel Ugarte in the second half of that game; astonishingly, they've let in more league goals this season with Ugarte on the pitch than with Casemiro, despite the Uruguayan playing less than half the number of minutes.
A Frank assessment
Tottenham's second-half rally to earn a 2-2 draw against Manchester City last week provided a welcome fillip for head coach Thomas Frank, whose side haven't won in the league this calendar year.
"I think we can create something magic together - the players and the fans - when we are united like we were," Frank purred after that comeback. Spurs' Champions League form has arguably kept him in a job, although the Dane would quite rightly point to the club's ongoing injury crisis as a mitigating factor.
Dominic at the double
One man who is back off the treatment table is Dominic Solanke, who netted both goals to earn a point against City â even if his dubious first effort provoked the ire of Pep Guardiola, who insisted it was a foul.
Solanke has four goals in six games in all competitions since returning from an ankle injury that caused him to miss four months of the season, averaging a goal every 88 minutes. That's the best rate of any Spurs player this season, and notably he has notched five in his last five appearances against Manchester United.
"He's been the best player on the pitch."
On the night Andreas Skov Olsen netted his first Rangers goal, scoring in a win that took the Ibrox side to within three points of the Scottish Premiership summit, it was the winger on the opposite flank who staked his claim to become a guaranteed starter in Danny Rohl's side.
In the aftermath of Sunday's goalless draw at Hibernian, Rangers' lack of creativity from open play came into focus again.
Teenage Mikey Moore, signed on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, was the only bright spark in Rohl's attack during a blunt display in Leith.
It was a cameo that had sections of the Rangers support questioning why the 18-year-old had not started, but he was presented that opportunity against Kilmarnock three days later.
Within three minutes, the teenager had perfectly threaded a pass through for Djeidi Gassama to win a spot-kick, resulting in an early red card for the visitors and a goal from captain James Tavernier.
Terrorising the Kilmarnock defence throughout, the Spurs youngster then registered a second-half assist for Skov Olsen before capping off a sublime performance with a goal that proved to be the final kick of a thumping 5-1 win.
"It's what he deserves," former Rangers striker Steven Naismith said after Moore's left-foot strike hit the far corner.
A goal, an assist and five chances created.
That alone tells the story of a busy night for Moore, whose midweek appearance at Ibrox was just his 13th league start of the season.
The forward is building a promising relationship on the Rangers left with full-back Jayden Meghoma, while Rohl can also be encouraged with how he combined with winter signings Skov Olsen and Tuur Rommens during their exciting cameos.
However, former Rangers forward Rory Loy was particularly impressed with the youngster's movement.
Driving to the byeline, jinking in off the left, and also finding himself space in central areas, Loy described Moore's movement as "nothing short of sensational".
Speaking on BBC Sportsound, he added: "Two or three passes before he gets the ball, defenders don't know where he is.
"It's been a masterclass in how to receive the ball in tight areas. He can go both ways, which keeps defenders guessing."
Fellow BBC Scotland pundit Naismith added: "He's so direct, he's confident, he's going at [the Kilmarnock defence] and he's enjoying himself out there."
Heart of Midlothian manager Derek McInnes believes James Wilson has made a mistake by joining Tottenham Hotspur on loan in a deal that could be made permanent at the end of the season.
Arsenal were in talks with the Scottish Premiership leaders over a move for the 18-year-old but the Scotland striker joined Spurs instead.
Wilson, who became the youngest man to represent Scotland when he came on in their Nations League play-off tie against Greece last March, will play for Spurs' Under-21s side.
He has scored eight goals in 45 appearances since making his Hearts breakthrough last season but he has struggled for game time this term.
"James wanted to go, so you don't want to keep a player who then becomes unhappy," said McInnes.
"I couldn't guarantee him minutes, such is the way it's been. I told him and his agent that our preference was to stay, fight for his place, be part of something.
"We'd get him a loan in Scotland if need be, to top his minutes up, and we can maybe recall him - still get the best of both worlds.
Tottenham midfielder George Abbott says he is excited to get another shot at League One with Mansfield Town after his stay with Wycombe Wanderers was cut short by injury earlier in the season.
Abbott, 20, returns to Nottinghamshire for a spell with the Stags following a successful period in League Two with Notts County in 2025, during which he scored the English Football League goal of the season.
In an interview with BBC Radio Nottingham, Tottenham's former Under-21 captain described the East Midlands as "a nice place to come back to" as he again tries to step up a division.
"I'm excited for it," he said. "I had an injury prior, so I just wanted to get back on to the pitch.
"When Mansfield came in for me, I thought it was a no-brainer."
Abbott has fond memories of his time with Stags' near neighbours Notts, marking his time there as "a good introduction to men's football" after coming through the youth-team ranks at Tottenham.
"Now coming to Mansfield in League One, and Wycombe earlier this season, I just keep stepping up and building up till hopefully I can play higher up, it's a really good stepping stone," said Abbott.