Man Utd finally end Tottenham hoodoo thanks to reckless Cristian Romero - 5 talking points
MAN UTD 2-0 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: Goals in either half from Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes helped fire the Red Devils to a fourth consecutive win in the Premier League
Michael Carrick further enhanced his prospects of becoming Manchester United's full-time head coach by overseeing a fourth straight victory at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs were left up against it when Cristian Romero was sent off for a moment of stupidity. And the Londoners' misery was compounded when a smart set-piece routine enabled Bryan Mbeumo to break the deadlock with a measured side-foot finish beyond Guglielmo Vicario seven minutes before half-time.
With a man advantage, United pushed for a second but were unable to find it until Bruno Fernandes popped up in the 81st minute to kill the game off.
Here, Mirror Football looks at the big talking points from Saturday's game at Old Trafford...
Tottenham hadn't lost in their previous eight meetings with Manchester United. But that stat was always on borrowed time from the second Romero was sent off by Michael Oliver.
United got the goal their pressure deserved when Mbeumo found the net from inside a crowded penalty area after a neat piece of play. And while it took them until the final 10 minutes to fully kill Spurs off, the result never really felt in doubt.
It's been a while since United beat Tottenham in any competition, let alone the Premier League. For Carrick, a former Spurs midfielder, this will have been extra sweet.
They say actions speak louder than words. And Romero's latest red card (he's now up to six, if you're counting) has completely outdone his latest verbal volley at the Spurs hierarchy in midweek.
It was a stupid follow through on Casemiro's ankle that led to Tottenham's captain being given his marching orders. To the surprise of precisely nobody, Romero let his club and team-mates down yet again in a big match - and the smart money would be on him doing it again and again.
That's because Romero is more liability than leader. He'll now miss Tottenham's next four matches and won't play again till mid-March if selected for Liverpool. And surely nobody would begrudge Thomas Frank if he decides against recalling him.
A moment of genius involving Fernandes, Mainoo and Kobbie Mainoo from a corner was enough to take the game away from Tottenham in the dying embers of the first half.
Spurs were completely taken by surprise as Fernandes tucked a low ball into Mainoo at the near post. He then posted the ball onto Mbuemo who kept his cool to steer a precise low shot away from the despairing Vicario and into the bottom corner.
It's almost felt like a bit of a throwback at times in the Premier League this season with set-pieces becoming so important. The good news for United in their bid to finish in the top-four is that this smart routine was no one-off; only Arsenal boast a better tally when it comes to non-penalty goals from set-pieces this season than Manchester United now.
Maligned by the previous regime, Mainoo needs no introduction; everybody knows how talented he is. And yet every time you see United with Carrick at the helm, the reluctance of Amorim to find a spot for him in his team grows more and more bewildering.
He was effortlessly cool and classy here as United cantered to another big win with only Fernandes (4) completing more big passes than the England star's three. Not for the first time, they were the standout players for United with Fernandes' strike bringing up his 200th goal involvement in a red shirt.
In four Premier League games under Carrick, Mainoo has clocked up more minutes than he did during all Amorim's matches. The most exciting thing for United and Mainoo is that there should be plenty more to come.
Carrick showed his class on the eve of the game when he insisted there could be no 'knee-jerk' decisions over the Manchester United head coach job despite his fine start to life in the hotseat. Even though he would be the chief beneficiary if United's top brass did decide to pull the trigger after a significant upturn in form.
The thing is, soon we'll be well beyond knee-jerk territory. In winning four straight Premier League games, Carrick has achieved something that his predecessor, Ruben Amorim, never did. So how many wins before Carrick is seen as the sensible option?
The next few weeks will be intriguing because if United keep winning, then it will be difficult to ignore Carrick. They are now just two points off Aston Villa in third position and motoring.
United spent over a year trying to find a winning formula under Amorim, who was given every chance to make a success of his premiership. Now they've finally found one under Carrick, do they dare twist?