Even the local Manchester reporters knew there was little point in asking Ange Postecoglou about Bruno Fernandes' red card.
In big matches such moments are overanalysed as key turning points, but in this encounter at Old Trafford, the dismissal was merely a footnote as Tottenham pummelled Manchester United from the first minute until the last. They'd already had 60% of the possession, 28 touches in the United box and 12 shots at goal before Fernandes left the pitch in the 42nd minute.
The way Spurs played, Erik ten Hag's men could have had 12 players and they would still have been chasing shadows as the visitors dominated, dazzled and cut them apart with passing moves and patterns of play that were oozing with clever movement and confidence.
What a difference 12 days makes. After back-to-back Premier League defeats for Spurs, despite good performances against Newcastle and Arsenal, it was all doom and gloom outside the club with words like 'crisis' being prepared for headlines to come.
Fast forward in the month and Tottenham have four wins on the trot and smiles are on faces across the club. Outside of the walls of Hotspur Way, each win was written off. The Coventry one was lucky, the Brentford one not against one of the big clubs, the Europa League victory chaotic.
To answer that, Spurs went to the Theatre of Dreams and gave the United players and Ten Hag nightmares that will have plagued them last night. The game was only three minutes old when Micky van de Ven intercepted Marcus Rashford's heavy touch in his own half and ran all the way to the United by-line and pulled the ball across for Brennan Johnson to score in his fourth consecutive match.
The critics will still try to place this result on Ten Hag's side being poor. They were so poor because Tottenham didn't let them pause or take a breath for a single moment. This was the closest example we've seen so far of the breathless, relentless Postecoglou football and it was all led by Dominic Solanke at the top end of the pitch.
United couldn't get out of their own defensive third, let alone their own half. Everything they tried to do was pounced upon by the swarm of Spurs players coming towards them.
In all Tottenham had 24 shots on United's goal with the home defence blocking another seven efforts. The away side sent 10 on target and had 61% of the possession with 621 passes to United's 377.
That their hosts had a numerical disadvantage will have added to that gap but the game was heading that way anyway.
When Postecoglou did speak about the red card in his Sky and club interviews, he called it a consequence of how Spurs were playing. That's true. It was a desperate lunge from Fernandes on James Maddison and as Johnson could be seen to be saying to the United captain while pointing to his head - "stupid, stupid, stupid".
The visitors were cutting United apart before Fernandes ended his own day prematurely. It's testament to Tottenham's performance that a 3-0 win at Old Trafford, an often unhappy hunting ground for the club, looked like a meagre scoreline with the chances they had.
Even Postecoglou was raging twice with 18-year-old Lucas Bergvall in the final 10 minutes, first for taking a shot from distance rather than passing the ball to the unmarked Mikey Moore and then later when the Swede attempted to find his fellow teenager rather than playing the ball to the right to two unmarked team-mates. The Australian bellowed 'Lucas' across the pitch and angrily showed him where the ball should have gone.
Postecoglou wants his team to feel like him. "We never stop" is one of his mantras and he wanted no mercy shown to this battered and beleaguered Manchester United side.
Dejan Kulusevski made it 2-0 with a killer goal early in the second half with a clever touch beyond Andre Onana from Johnson's deflected cross and then Solanke made it three goals in three games by sliding the ball home after Pape Matar Sarr flicked on Bergvall's corner.
Postecoglou wanted more but he knew there was a difference in this game to the Spurs displays early this season when dominance was not turned into victories.
"Sometimes it's just the nature of football. We did have some fantastic chances that we probably should have put away, but the pleasing thing for me was that I just got a sense that the players weren't dwelling on it, they were just focused. 'Ok, let's go again and grab another one'," he said.
"And I think that's when it can become slightly frustrating if we're kind of dwelling on or second guessing ourselves. I think we had a little bit of that in the first two or three games of the season where we missed a lot of chances and it just felt like we were getting more and more desperate with every missed chance. Whereas, there was a real calmness about the lads today that, ok, we'll miss one but let's go again and create another one."
He told football.london: "The lads were outstanding. I thought we showed real belief and conviction in our football today and were really aggressive in everything, aggressive without the ball, aggressive with the ball, really positive in our intent and a fantastic all-round performance."
Johnson said after the game that the Spurs players had followed Postecoglou's game plan to the letter and it had brought the win. It was another reminder to them what happens when they play as he asks.
The Australian played it down as a statement win after the game but for those looking in from the outside it was what they were waiting to see - a victory away against a big six side. It was more than that though. It was stylish, suffocating and a serious signal of intent, setting the bar for what this Spurs side can do against anyone they please.
Marvellous Micky van de Ven and the defence
Remember when Tottenham signed Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg and his arrival barely caused a ripple? After his first game, former Swindon Town director of football Tim Sherwood labelled the young Dutchman as "wooden" and "slow on the turn".
On Sunday afternoon, the 23-year-old continued to prove that in fact he's one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League and Europe. Terrifyingly for strikers everywhere, the young Netherlands speedster is only going to get better as he continues to learn and develop.
One of Manchester United's main strengths is their ability to break with speed but if they ever did manage to clamber out from Tottenham's press on Sunday they found Van de Ven awaiting them with a grin on his face.
Alejandro Garnacho, no slouch himself, managed to break free down the right at one point in the second half and looked like he might race towards the Spurs penalty area. Instead like Superman swooping in from nowhere to prevent a crime, Van de Van swooshed past and slid in to send the ball out of play for a throw-in. In a sense he was indeed preventing a crime because any Manchester United goal on Sunday would have been criminal within the script of the game.
Van de Ven's long powerful run for the opening goal three minutes in was similar to his effort to set up Son against Everton last month but this time brought a perfect ball across the face of goal for Johnson to smash home.
"He's an outstanding player," Postecoglou said of Van de Ven when asked by football.london, before adding simply with a grin. "I think we've brought some decent footballers to the club."
Tottenham kept a clean sheet and they again dealt well with defending set pieces, Nick Montgomery's work with them continuing to bear fruit with Guglielmo Vicario assured and dominant with his handling. The decision to play the Italian against Qarabag in midweek brought an excellent display that night and he took that confidence into this game.
Vicario, part of the team's leadership group since this summer as football.london revealed this month, spoke passionately into the players' huddle before the second half kicked off and the instant response on the pitch showed he had left his mark.
He had made an important close range save from Joshua Zirkzee before the break and he knew that Tottenham needed to keep their concentration.
Cristian Romero was imperious with the captain's armband, leading the team with intent at both ends of the pitch, shutting down United attacks and probing for passes between the lines in the opposition half.
He made two interceptions, two clearances, blocked one shot and made one tackle, while sending one acrobatic overhead kick just past the right-hand post at the other end.
Romero marshalled the backline with all of his World Cup and Copa America-winning experience and his leadership of the team has grown exponentially since Postecoglou made him a vice-captain.
The Argentine stepped up in Son's absence last season and he did so again on Sunday. His genuine delight for Solanke was clear to see when he ran over to congratulate the club's energetic striker for his latest goal.
Alongside him, Pedro Porro was in fine form and, like Romero, was refreshed from his night off in midweek.
The Spaniard made his presence felt at both ends of the pitch with one tackle, three clearances and blocked one shot at Spurs' end in dealing with Marcus Rashford, while keeping United's defence busy at the other end with one shot on target, two key passes and one dribble in the final third.
On the other flank, Destiny Udogie looked back to his best with his constant raids forward and the young Italian had two chances in the United box following slick link-ups with Dejan Kulusevski.
One driving Udogie break up the pitch ended with Brennan Johnson firing an effort against the foot of the left-hand post. However, the left-back then sat on the grass and required treatment with his team-mates concerned around him.
Djed Spence was ready to come on after the coaching staff told him to get prepared and looked to be set to make the switch before Postecoglou questioned whether anyone had actually asked Udogie if he was looking to come off. The Italian felt otherwise and re-entered the fray, Vicario making that important save from Zirkzee in his absence.
Udogie continued to contribute and didn't look too restricted as the half wore on but Postecoglou played it safe at the break.
"Yeah, he was ok. I mean he felt something in his quad but he obviously finished the half, but we just thought at half-time no point, we've got to be careful about how much we push our players," the Spurs boss told football.london.
"Obviously, Destiny had to come on pretty early on Thursday night, which wasn't the plan and I would say Micky played probably more than we wanted him to. So with those kind of things, we just got to be really careful, and Djed did really well when he came on so I thought it was just wise to take him off but we'll see how it goes."
Tottenham will be wary of any further quadriceps problems for Udogie who needed an operation for that exact reason in April, which kept him out of action for four months.
On Instagram after the game, Udogie posted: "Coming back to London with three points. Sure I'll be okay!"
As Postecoglou said, Spence was very good when he came on, working hard in both halves of the pitch and linking up well with both Timo Werner and James Maddison.
The Spence redemption story is a heartening one and with every passing performance he makes the decision to leave him out of the Europa League squad all the more difficult to fathom, particularly with Vicario used in goal in the competition rather than the four other goalkeepers available on Thursday night.
The main thing though is that Postecoglou's defence has recorded back-to-back clean sheets, is contributing at both ends of the pitch, and looks ready for the tests to come in the days ahead.
Dynamic Dejan and a midfield masterclass
Tottenham's grip on the game all came from the midfield trio that has found its groove under Postecoglou.
On paper, an engine room of Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur and James Maddison might seem lightweight. In reality, the distance the three players cover and their work rate with and without the ball has created something special within Postecoglou's side.
Bentancur was excellent at Old Trafford last season with his goalscoring display but this latest showing was further proof that he's finally back to where he needs to be after so long lost to that cruciate ligament injury and then ankle one.
On Sunday, the Uruguayan was calmness personified as the outlet for anyone in a white shirt to pass to as he twisted, turned and wriggled away from the attentions of his United counterparts.
Yves Bissouma's indiscretions and injury have allowed Bentancur the chance to claim the number six role as his own and ironically the 27-year-old's own issues this summer will likely rob Spurs of his services in the Premier League for a period of time and allow Bissouma a chance to grab his spot back.
It's all about fitness and players having confidence in their own bodies. Bentancur now has that and so does James Maddison. Postecoglou has always said that the England international needs to be completely unrestricted to show the best version of himself and that's what Tottenham are getting now.
Kulusevski's inclusion means that Maddison has more responsibility deeper in the build-up play and he's taken that in his stride.
"He’s playing really good right now, and he scored the goal last week, and that helps him a lot," Kulusevski said of his team-mate on Sunday. "So, we’ve got to keep playing good everybody, because the quality is there. We just have to be mentally strong."
Those couple of words sum up Kulusevski himself. Used as a right winger for much of his Tottenham tenure so far, there were doubts over how he would fit into Postecoglou's system and the Swede admitted to football.london this summer that he had to adapt his game to play in the high and wide role under the Australian.
Yet Maddison himself had already played his part in beginning Kulusevski's transition to his favoured role. That's because the 24-year-old filled in for Maddison at points when he was missing with his ankle injury last season and Postecoglou realised what else the Sweden international could bring to the table.
The pre-season brought a false nine role which further showed how much he could bring centrally and the decision was made to convert Kulusevski into a Postecoglou number eight for the campaign ahead.
He hasn't looked back since and has been Spurs' best player this season by a distance. He admitted in his club interview on Sunday that the extra responsibility he has felt off the pitch in becoming a first-time father has ensured he realises he needs to take more responsibility on the pitch.
On Sunday, he completed nine key passes. For context, that's the same number as all of his Tottenham team-mates combined in the game and the same as the entire United team could produce.
He was rewarded for his efforts with the killer second goal for Spurs after the break, a deft clever finish beyond Onana and into the net. He celebrated by making a heart towards the camera before creating an 'L' with his fingers for his daughter Leonie.
"This is my position," Kulusevski declared after the game, "and I grew a lot because now I can defend. Before maybe I didn't defend as much, and that was why I didn't play in the midfield.
"But now I'm growing as a player and then I can play to my strengths. I'm best in the middle, I can score goals, I can find good passes, then I play with Maddison who's unbelievable with the ball.
"We have Bentancur who when he plays like this is an unbelievable player, so it looks offensive on the paper but right now it's working really good."
It's a midfield trio which makes sense in terms of the relationships within it. Kulusevski and Bentancur know each other's games inside out after years spent together in both north London and Turin.
Maddison and Kulusevski are also growing quickly as a pairing. They spent much of last season separated on either side of the pitch, likes two halves of a locket just waiting to be put together.
They are both intelligent footballers, in terms of their use of the ball and their movement off it. Together they're proving to be a potent mix.
Maddison knows that if he can get the ball to Kulusevski and keep running then the Swede will ensure the ball returns into his path. It was something they perfected in pre-season and one one-two in particular on Sunday with a Kulusevski backheel for Maddison, who was then denied by Onana's shoulder, was right out of their pre-season playbook.
"[It works between them] because I think they're both really good intelligent footballers," said Postecoglou. "The way we play suits their characteristics because Madders does so much damage with the ball and Deki does so much damage with his running.
"It's a good balance for us in that attacking third and they also had to show good discipline today, because we knew that the main threat Manchester United have is in the transition. You know, they're pretty lethal with the front guys they've got so we really wanted to make sure we locked them in today and that was the full-backs and for Madders and Deki to be really disciplined in their football. They're both going really well and working really hard and improving."
That midfield trio has now been used against both Arsenal and Manchester United away and it's dominated those battles. Call it weak at your peril.
An attack that's finally firing
Ange Postecoglou has long said that his Tottenham team's attacking play in the final third was the area that had the most room for growth.
After 12 days that have brought 11 goals, it was put to the Australian that finally that corner had been turned and the attacking department was growing into what he wanted it to be.
"Yeah, definitely. I mean, it helps that obviously Dom's overcome his crisis of confidence for 180 minutes," he said with a huge dollop of sarcasm, "and now he's back to some sort of fitness and he's leading the line really well and Brennan.
"But just in general, I think the team, it just felt that as I kept saying, I thought we played really well, we played well at Newcastle, we played well against Arsenal, but we just missed chances and it felt like there was a desperation about us trying to get another one.
"Whereas, you know, probably the last three games this week, we just had a real calmness about us and I think it's helped that we've got a focal point in Dom and he's just a real presence and he attracts attention. He kind of takes attention away from other players and it just works really well in our unit."
Postecoglou is right to pour scorn on the ridiculously premature writing off of his £65million striker as he worked his way back to fitness after a pre-season injury and then an ankle injury in his first game for Tottenham, following a campaign for Bournemouth in which he didn't miss a match in the Premier League.
Now Solanke has three goals in three games and it's not like he's even had a plethora of chances to feast upon. He's been clinical and when this Tottenham team really learn what areas to give him the ball in, he's going to rack up more than his 21 goals last season for the Cherries.
On Sunday he again showed why Postecoglou made it clear to Spurs that Solanke was the big fish to land, the player he wanted them to secure for him this summer. He knew that the 27-year-old would fit his system as if he had been born to play in it.
Solanke never stops running and pressing. He's a machine and this isn't even him at his fittest yet. He's also strong and intelligent with the ball. Just watch his part in Tottenham's second goal as he wins a duel in the middle of the pitch and then heads the ball powerfully into Brennan Johnson's path to sweep up the pitch. Solanke's sliding finish for his own goal was well deserved and he could have had another late on, only to be denied by the toe of Onana.
He's a rare breed of striker, a poacher that scores goals - 73 in his previous four seasons - yet one that is also always looking to create and work for others around him.
The Tottenham players have taken to him quickly, even though he missed the bonding session that pre-season brings. It's his movement and hold-up play that have given them an outlet and a focal point. His pressing creates panic among the opposition defence and his team-mates profit, bringing an appreciation from within the group.
"He impressed me a lot with his work rate especially," said Kulusevski. "He's a great guy, and he's making a lot of things much easier to us, and when he scores goals that's the best thing."
The noisy travelling Tottenham fans' chant about Solanke, which unnecessarily included Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, provoked a statement from the club about "abhorrent homophobic chanting from sections of our away support at Old Trafford today. This is simply unacceptable, hugely offensive and no way to show support for the team".
It's a shame for Solanke to not have his own chant but instead one that's just referencing Arsenal and their manager. It's not one the striker is going to be happy to be associated with or proud of. Hopefully a far better one with some actual thought behind it will be crafted as he keeps scoring.
As with the injuries that have impacted other areas of Tottenham's squad, Postecoglou and Solanke need Richarlison back. For Solanke will need to rest occasionally to ensure Spurs get the best version of him, otherwise he will run himself into the ground for the team. Will Lankshear could be the beneficiary in Budapest this week.
If Solanke is one narrative-buster then Brennan Johnson is most definitely another. At Old Trafford, the 23-year-old put in what was arguably his best performance so far in a Tottenham shirt and he did it on the big stage.
He made it four goals in four consecutive games with his early finish, grinning with glee before Van de Ven's pinpoint pass had even reached him, then he struck the post with a second effort, fired another off target and set up Kulusevski's goal with his deflected cross. He put in another great low cross that was diverted away just before Timo Werner could tap it home.
Postecoglou and his coaches have worked hard with Johnson to improve his movement at the back of the penalty area and it's no coincidence that all four of his recent goals have come from great movement into the area.
His confidence is sky high and with his family watching on proudly from the director's box at Old Trafford, Johnson is running at his man again and terrifying defenders with his every move. His defensive work also often goes unnoticed as he tracks back constantly, making one tackle, one interception and one clearance on Sunday, ushering his attacking counterparts into areas of the pitch where they can do less damage.
Quietly, the young attacker has gone from struggling for consistency in the early games of the season to becoming Spurs' top scorer so far this campaign. Perhaps the trick for all players is to deactivate their social media accounts. Kulusevski doesn't think that's the worst idea.
"[Brennan's been ] unbelievable, but that's a good thing [he is off social media], because social media is overrated, I think," said the Swede. "So, he can focus on the right things, to play football. Four games, four goals is unbelievable.
"Today, he could score two - he hit the post one time - but he's been doing really good, and he's a really good guy, young guy, and we need him. We need him to perform like this every game, and we're here to support it."
He added on Johnson's £50million transfer fee at such a young age: "I think it's so much that can weigh down on you as a player, because millions of people have opinions on you every day.
"But the important thing is to don't listen to nobody, and just to be with your family and trust in yourself and work hard, then nothing can stop you.
"I think every player goes through [tough times], and you just have to go through it because you just need to learn. Sometimes you're questioning everything, but you just have to forget and remember why you started and remember who you are and where you want to go. That's what I'm doing right now."
One player going through that tough spell is Timo Werner. The German had big shoes to fill in replacing captain Son Heung-min in the team, especially after struggling against Championship side Coventry in the Carabao Cup.
At Old Trafford, Werner showed exactly why Postecoglou selected him, but also how his confidence in his own ability to finish remains at rock bottom.
The move to include the 28-year-old befuddled many supporters but it made sense in terms of the system, allowing Kulusevski to remain in his most potent position and have two speedy wingers who would push the United full-backs back into the corners of the pitch, nullifying their impact in the Tottenham half.
Werner does the basics of wing play well, he takes on his man and more often than not gets past them. His two dribbles were matched only by Solanke but the problem for the German comes in what happens next.
He put three crosses into the box but he does not follow up at the back post to score himself as regularly as Johnson does. That's down to a lack of confidence and three moments summed that up.
Two saw him sent clear through towards the United goal by Kulusevski, and on both occasions he hesitated in the final moments and his weak shots were saved by Onana. The first of which he could have rounded the goalkeeper with a bit more composure.
The third occasion came in the second half when he raced up the pitch on a near pitch-long run with three Spurs players keeping up with him only to pull the ball back behind all of them when he reached the United penalty area. The look on all of his team-mates faces said it all after they had sprinted to keep up with him.
Werner needs something to break his way. It could be a deflected shot or a perfect assist, but he needs something to help him believe in himself again. He will get more chances in the days ahead, with Son's return to action unclear and a lack of fit wingers in the squad.
Seventeen-year-old Mikey Moore will also be making his case to start games. The teenager almost put the perfect seal on Sunday's endeavours as he cut inside late in the game and curled a trademark effort inches wide of the right-hand post.
Moore had a lovely moment in front of the travelling fans after the final whistle as they sang his name. Postecoglou will need to give the youngster minutes in Budapest this week in order to prevent Johnson from burning out, whether it be from the start or during the match.
Up next are Ferencvaros and then Brighton, a team that gives Spurs a run for their money in playing the high line.
Postecoglou was not playing ball in agreeing that this was a statement win for his Tottenham team, one achieved without its captain.
"No, not really. I know people are still not convinced, but like I said, I just keep relying on what I see and what I believe in, in terms of the kind of football you want to play and when we're not affected too much by disruption and injuries as we were last year, I still think home or away we're a good football team," he said.
"I've got no idea [if that's a statement win], mate. I'm befuddled by the whole process. I guess people don't see what I see, which is, it's fair enough. I mean, everyone's got their own sort of view of things, but like I said, I don't think there's been a game this year in the Premier League - I mean, if you really watched us and I suspect a lot of people don't watch - where we've been outplayed or we've looked all at sea. It's just that we haven't killed off games like we should have.
"Now we've got Dom in the team, he's finding some fitness and form and Brennan, but even guys like Madders now and Deki are really giving us some real edge in that front third. But for us, nothing changes. We've just got to keep doing what we're doing. There's still a lot of improvement to do in many areas, but the good thing about the group is they want to keep improving."
For Kulusevski, this is the Tottenham Hotspur that must exist from now on.
"That’s how we need to play. Our season started now," he said. "Four wins in a row, the feeling is very good. A lot of happy players and it's showing on the pitch."
On the games to come and finding further consistency, the Swede added: "That's what champions do. Every day you have to perform and you have to win games, so it's very important."
Postecoglou understandably played it down because he wants this to be the norm under him rather than a special occasion but he will know inside that this was an important day in his reign.
His Spurs side demolished Manchester United in their own backyard and sent a message to the rest of the Premier League. They're now scoring the goals their dominating performances deserve.
The team has shed its fear and it's unnerving some because it's not fitting in the neat box the pundits want it to. That's because the closest version we've seen yet to Postecoglou's Tottenham Hotspur was in operation in Greater Manchester on Sunday afternoon and it was certainly something to behold.
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