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Tottenham Hotspur became the first English team to beat Ferencvaros in Hungary in 55 years on Thursday evening as they won 2-1 in the Europa League.

Goals from Pape Matar Sarr and Brennan Johnson mean Spurs have won their last five games in all competitions, including their first two in the league phase of the Europa League. Yet Ange Postecoglou’s much-changed side were still pushed all the way in Budapest.

Guglielmo Vicario made a couple of excellent saves at key moments, while Barnabas Varga had a goal disallowed for a tight offside when the contest was still goalless.

Yet the visitors still found a way to prevail, with academy stars Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear impressing on their first competitive starts.

Jay Harris dissects the main talking points from Hungary.

Did the eight changes to the starting line-up pay off?

Postecoglou made seven changes to the team that tore apart Manchester United on Sunday afternoon and named four teenagers in the starting XI in a European competition for the first time since February 2009.

With the rain lashing down and the home fans creating a raucous atmosphere, it was no surprise this young side initially found it difficult to settle. Pedro Porro and Yves Bissouma, two of the more experienced members of the group, both gave the ball away cheaply on the edge of their own box as Ferencvaros started aggressively.

They were lucky Varga’s header was ruled out for offside, while Vicario was forced into a point-blank save from the striker a couple of minutes later. Sarr’s goal at least allowed Tottenham to feel a bit more confident. Ben Davies had a great chance to score from a corner while Porro hit the post. “I thought they handled it really, really well,” said Postecoglou.

Yet, with those opportunities spurned and the hosts threatening a second-half revival, the Tottenham manager eventually threw on his senior players, including James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke and Johnson with the game too open for comfort. Johnson’s assured left-footed strike duly sealed the victory — even if Varga’s late effort made things awkward.

Johnson has scored in his last five games in all competitions. It turned out to be a challenging evening, but Spurs will have learned a lot.

Did Mikey Moore impress on his first start?

This was the moment Tottenham’s fanbase have been waiting for since Moore became the youngest player to represent them in the Premier League when he came off the bench in their 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in May. Moore was finally given a chance to show everybody what he is capable of from the start — and he did not disappoint.

The 17-year-old winger’s first involvement was to win a free kick and Ferencvaros’ defence found him elusive throughout — Eldar Civic eventually located him and was booked for a foul. The England Under-17 international is so confident driving at opponents and he played a huge part in Sarr’s goal.

Moore moved inside from the right wing and breezed past a couple of players before attempting to chip the ball into space for Lankshear. The ball bounced around in the box before falling kindly to Sarr, who had a simple finish from a few yards out.

Moore should have registered an assist in the second half when he played a brilliant ball for Timo Werner on the counter. Werner found himself one-on-one with Denes Dibusz and poked the ball past him, but the angle was too tight and he hit the side netting.

“I thought he was outstanding,” said Postecoglou in his post-match press conference. “It’s brilliant for a 17-year-old to play 90-plus minutes in a European away tie. He just handled it superbly; I kind of knew he would and I think it’ll help his growth as a footballer once you get through a sort of experience like that.

“He’ll grow and evolve and I didn’t feel like I needed to take him off. He still looked strong at the end and was still contributing.

“His ability to just deal with pressure and keep the ball in really tight areas and make really good clean decisions for such a young boy… it’s not easy out there when defenders fly in and he took one within the first 30 seconds, but he drives on. He’s got so much growth and he wants to learn.

“I couldn’t be happier with him and I’m very pleased that he’s part of our football club.”

This was worth the wait.

What is Archie Gray’s best position?

Archie Gray, who was making his second appearance at this level, started at left-sided centre-back even though he prefers to play in central midfield or at right-back. He had a large amount of space to cover with Davies pushing forward to join attacks and was left exposed for Barnabas Varga’s disallowed goal.

Gray followed Varga into Ferencvaros’ half only for the striker to flick the ball over his head for Adama Traore to chase. Civic then whipped a cross at the back post for Varga to head past Vicario, but the forward had strayed offside by a couple of centimetres in the build-up.

Gray switched with Davies at half-time and moved to left-back. He was exceptional on the ball and, at one point, ran the entire length of the pitch before being tackled on the edge of the box.

On the hour mark, it looked like he was trapped by the corner flag, but he pulled off a brilliant backheeled flick that launched a Spurs counter-attack. It was his pass that set up Johnson to strike the bar 11 minutes from time. “I thought Archie was brilliant today,” said Postecoglou. “We asked him to play two different positions and he just adapts and handles it.”

The 18-year-old’s stock keeps growing with every appearance and it is exciting to think what he might be capable of when offered the chance to play in his favourite position.

Did Lucas Bergvall take his chance?

After being sacrificed for Destiny Udogie in last week’s 3-0 victory over Qarabag following Radu Dragusin’s red card, Lucas Bergvall was presented with a second chance to impress. The 18-year-old has looked silky when he has come off the bench in the Premier League, but this threatened to be a better opportunity to see how he fits into this team.

Bergvall was tasked with being the playmaker, with Sarr and Bissouma alongside him in midfield. He showed a few slick touches but struggled to make a significant impact.

Towards the end of the first half, Porro fired a pass into Bergvall’s feet, but he dummied it assuming Moore was running in behind. Yet Moore had not moved and the ball went out of play. Porro complained while Bergvall tried to explain himself. That incident, and an unfortunate slip in the second half which led to a Ferencvaros counter-attack, summed up his evening.

There will be lots more chances for Bergvall to impress and it is easy to forget that he is still a young and inexperienced player.

What next for Tottenham?

Sunday, October 6: Brighton (A), Premier League, 4.30pm UK, 11.30am ET

A tricky trip to the south coast where Spurs were beaten 4-2 last December. But they will travel to the Amex stadium bolstered by five wins in a row in all competitions.

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(Top photo: David Balogh/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur striker Dominic Solanke has been called up to the England squad for the first time in seven years.

Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers, though, has not been included in the senior side and will again be part of the Under-21 squad.

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire is also among those left out by interim head coach Lee Carsley, as are Solanke’s Spurs team-mate James Maddison and West Ham United forward Jarrod Bowen. Chelsea defender Levi Colwill has been selected after featuring in both of England’s Nations League games last month.

Solanke, 27, has scored three goals in six games for Tottenham since completing a £65million ($83m) move from Bournemouth over the summer.

He netted 21 times in 42 games for Bournemouth last season but was not included in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the European Championship, with Harry Kane, Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins selected ahead of him.

Solanke’s only senior England appearance came while he was at Liverpool in November 2017, when he featured as a substitute in a friendly against Brazil.

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Rogers has emerged as a key player for Unai Emery’s Villa side this season and has started all eight of their matches in the Premier League and Champions League, contributing two assists and one goal.

Maguire, meanwhile, played well for England last month but misses out after the emergence of Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs De Ligt as Erik ten Hag’s first-choice centre-backs. The 31-year-old was also absent from the United team that lost 3-0 at home to Tottenham on Sunday with a dead calf muscle injury but has been included in their travelling party to face Porto in the Europa League on Thursday. He is not expected to start, however, and the international break will give him time to get back to full fitness.

Maddison has not been included in an England squad since being cut from the preliminary selection ahead of the Euros. The 27-year-old has two assists and one goal in seven games for Spurs this season.

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England host Greece at Wembley Stadium on Thursday before travelling to Finland on Sunday for their Nations League B Group 2 fixtures. They began the group stage with wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland last month.

‘A more rounded player than some of his potential rivals’

Analysis by Tottenham correspondent Jay Harris

After suffering an ankle injury on his debut for Tottenham, Solanke has been in great form since he returned in September and has deservedly been called up to an England squad for the first time in seven years.

Solanke was a prolific goalscorer for England’s youth teams, winning the Under-17 European Championship and Under-20 World Cup, but has only been capped once up to now.

The centre-forward joined Spurs from Bournemouth at the beginning of August for a club-record fee of £65million. He has scored in his last three games in all competitions and set up Brennan Johnson’s goal in last week’s 3-0 victory over Qarabag in the Europa League.

Solanke has exceptional movement in the box but his ability to drop deep to link-up play along with his relentless pressing make him a more rounded player than some of his rivals upfront.

(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

To watch Tottenham recently has been to get a glimpse of a future. It is not a future many Spurs fans wanted to consider, but the evidence of September is that it may not be so bad.

We are coming to the end of the era of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min at Tottenham. For eight years — from Son’s arrival in 2015 to Kane’s departure in 2023 — these two world-class forwards carried Spurs. No matter what problems Spurs had during that time — bad recruitment, bad management and the rest — they could rely on having two of the best attacking players in Europe to bail them out.

When Kane was sold to Bayern Munich last summer it left a huge hole, not just his goals but his creativity, his hold-up play, and his leadership on and off the pitch. Son became the captain (replacing Hugo Lloris) and senior player, and had a better season than the one before, scoring 17 Premier League goals.

But even Son will not go on forever. This is the last season of his contract, although Spurs intend to trigger an option which will see him contracted for next season too. But he is 32 years old and time will catch up with him eventually. He is already showing signs of slowing down: so far this season he is averaging 1.4 shots per 90 in the league, his lowest number during his time at Spurs, and 0.28 expected goals per 90, his joint-lowest at Spurs.

With Kane in Germany and Son arguably past his peak, Tottenham will have to rely on less established firepower. That might be daunting. It will certainly be more difficult. Spurs will have to work harder for goals and cannot just get the ball to someone on the edge of the box and trust it will end up in the bottom corner. Just two weeks ago, this might have prompted some to wonder if Spurs were in trouble. With Son not scoring every game, where would the goals come from?

But it is time for the next generation of Spurs forwards to step up and fill the gap. Two years ago they spent an initial £50million on bringing Richarlison in from Everton. Even though he was better last season, he has still only scored 12 Premier League goals since then. After paying so much money for not much of a return, Tottenham need their next big signings to start scoring fast.

Spurs spent £47.5m on Brennan Johnson last summer and he did well enough last season, with five goals and 10 assists in 26 Premier League starts, but it always felt like there was more to come. This summer they bought Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth for a fee that could end up at £65m. With more than £100m invested in their new-look front line the pressure was on.

Solanke and Johnson started together at Leicester City on the opening day, and Spurs dominated possession, but neither man scored and Spurs drew 1-1. Solanke picked up a knock and when he returned against Arsenal on September 15 neither he nor Johnson had much impact. Spurs lost 1-0. Fans grew anxious. (Johnson got so much abuse on social media he deleted his accounts.) If neither could score goals then Tottenham would have a frustrating season.

But when Spurs went to Coventry City in the League Cup things started to change. Solanke worked hard all night, and when Johnson came on he scored a brilliant winning goal deep in stoppage time, racing onto Rodrigo Bentancur’s pass and dinking a perfect finish. It was his first goal since April, and his season was finally underway.

It always felt with Johnson that if he just had one good moment, one big goal, then his confidence would return and he would never look back. So it has proved: Johnson started against Brentford, Qarabag and Manchester United, scoring in all three games. Seeing his delight at turning in Micky van de Ven’s cross at Old Trafford — making that classic run attacking the far post that he does so well — was to see a player transformed from how he looked at the start of the season.

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But Johnson cannot do it all by himself. The other story of the last few weeks has been the arrival of Solanke as a Tottenham player. He was signed in part for his penalty-box instincts, and the way that he swept in rebounds against Brentford and Qarabag showed off his killer instinct. So did the way he attacked Pape Matar Sarr’s flick from Lucas Bergvall’s corner at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Solanke offers more than that too: a relentlessness in pressing the opposition which sets the tone for the whole team, as well as an awareness in linking with team-mates to create chances for them. Just watch the way he won the ball back against Qarabag and played in Johnson, to get a sense of how his value to the team will be bigger even than the goals that he scores.

Since Johnson came on at Coventry, he has scored four and Solanke three, and between them you can get a glimpse of how Spurs might attack in the future. When Tottenham went to Old Trafford on Sunday they did so without Son, and racked up Spurs’ biggest xG tally since records began: 4.59.

If you go back through the data and see Spurs’ other best xG hauls — none of them exceeding four — they are almost exclusively games in which Kane and Son both played and both scored. (The 4-0 win against Everton in January 2018; the 5-0 win against Swansea the season before; the 2-0 win against Arsenal in April 2017; the 5-1 win against Stoke in December 2017; the 5-0 win at Norwich in May 2022.) The one exception is the 4-1 defeat of Newcastle United last season, by which point Kane had left.

Of course we are not in the post-Son era yet. He has started seasons slowly before and then clicked into gear. He scored twice against Everton on 24 August. While he has not scored since, there is no doubt he will continue to be first choice out on the left when he gets back to fitness. In this system, playing this way, there will be plenty of goals on offer for him too.

But the point here is that for years Tottenham’s attacking play has been painfully dependent on two men. One of them has left, and Son can no longer do it all himself. At some point Tottenham will have to find a way to score goals without relying on an all-time great to do it all for them. And for the first time now you can see an outline of what that future might look like.

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(Top photo: Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke; by Alex Pantling via Getty Images)

If Manchester United want to know what a well-structured performance looks like, they should rewatch Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 victory at Old Trafford. Against a lifeless press and non-existent cover on the transition, Spurs ripped Erik ten Hag’s side to shreds.

The rotations in Ange Postecoglou’s midfield proved too much for United’s organisation without the ball, while a focus on attacking the wide areas cut through United repeatedly.

In possession, the rotations between Tottenham’s midfielders and full-backs stretched United’s 4-4-2…

… and created gaps in the midfield line that were exploited by the dropping Dominic Solanke or the other central players.

Here, Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro’s switch creates a gap between Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo as they exchange their markers, and Solanke drops to offer Cristian Romero a passing option through that space.

As Romero plays the pass to Solanke, Kulusevski starts moving forward…

… to offer a progressive option to his striker, with Brennan Johnson pinning United’s left-back, Diogo Dalot.

Solanke flicks the ball towards Johnson…

… and Kulusevski’s third-man run is found by the right-winger. Tottenham’s attack down the right side attracts Manuel Ugarte, which means that James Maddison is free on the other side because United’s right-back, Noussair Mazraoui, has Timo Werner (out of shot) to worry about.

As a result, Kulusevski switches the play to Maddison, with Ugarte dragged to the other side.

In another example, Kulusevski and Solanke are initially marked by Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez. The Tottenham centre-forward drops to offer himself as a passing option…

… and Kulusevski dashes forward, forcing Martinez and Mainoo to switch markers as Destiny Udogie is occupying Ugarte.

Again, the moment Tottenham progress the ball is when they switch their positions, so they can catch out United while exchanging their markers. However, Solanke returns the ball to Romero because there is no passing option.

As Romero plays the ball wide to Porro, Solanke attacks the space behind Mainoo. Meanwhile, Kulusevski drags Martinez deeper and Ugarte has to mark Udogie…

… which means United can’t cover the space behind Mainoo when Porro’s pass finds Solanke. The centre-forward then plays the ball to Johnson down the right wing…

… and by the time Ugarte moves across to support, the Wales forward plays it back to Rodrigo Bentancur, who finds Maddison in space.

Maddison then switches the ball to the other side, before combining with Kulusevski to nearly double Tottenham’s lead.

Tottenham’s movement in the central zones kept stretching United’s out-of-possession structure. Here, Mainoo and Ugarte are initially marking Kulusevski and Maddison…

… but when Spurs move the ball towards their right side, the Uruguay midfielder moves across to cover for Mainoo. Ugarte’s shift means Alejandro Garnacho cannot commit to closing down Micky van de Ven because of the narrow positioning of Maddison and Udogie (out of shot).

Romero plays the ball back to Guglielmo Vicario…

… and when the goalkeeper passes it to Van de Ven, Garnacho is late to the press.

With Ugarte moving up to mark Maddison and Mazraoui pinned by Werner down the left wing, Van de Ven comfortably finds Udogie in space.

The dominoes then fall with the right side of United’s defence late to press Udogie and Werner, which allows them to combine down the left wing, before the left-back finds Kulusevski in front of the penalty area and Johnson hits the post.

Furthermore, Tottenham’s full-backs and Bentancur positioned themselves smartly to defend the transition in case United won the ball back.

Here, Udogie finds Werner down the left wing after Tottenham play through United’s block, and Bentancur moves towards that side to cover.

Bentancur’s positioning offers a safety net for Tottenham’s left side. When Werner’s cutback doesn’t find Udogie’s run inside the penalty area and United start their attacking transition…

… Van de Ven and Romero can aggressively defend the central space and the right side because Bentancur is tracking Garnacho’s movement.

In another example, Porro and Bentancur drop deeper while Tottenham are still attacking in the aftermath of a set piece.

When the attack fails and United are looking to strike on the counter-attack, Postecoglou’s side are in a position to defend three different lanes with Bentancur’s positioning enabling Udogie to defend the central space.

Tottenham’s ability to defend United’s transitions also allowed them to create their own in the other direction. Due to United’s gung-ho approach when counter-attacking, they are always vulnerable when it is reversed.

In this example, Udogie’s narrow positioning allows him to recover when United win the ball in midfield and attack the vacated space.

Van de Ven moves across to defend Udogie’s position and the left-back complements that by dropping into the central space…

… which allows him to intercept Garnacho’s pass toward Joshua Zirkzee and reverse the transition.

Tottenham’s transition in the other direction finds Kulusevski, who puts Werner through on goal…

… but Werner shoots straight at Andre Onana.

In the build-up to Tottenham’s first goal, Udogie is in position to track Garnacho in case the ball is lost.

When United win the ball back and start the attacking transition…

… the left-back is in position to defend against Garnacho while Van de Ven and Romero are defending the other spaces. Fernandes tries to find Garnacho’s run…

… but Udogie’s presence forces the right-winger to play it backwards towards Rashford. Meanwhile, Bentancur is dropping to support the defence…

… which allows Van de Ven to sprint and beat Rashford to the ball — in case Van de Ven is late, Bentancur is already dropping to cover for him.

Tottenham reverse the transition in the other direction and Van de Ven surges through an unorganised United defence, before finding Johnson towards the far post…

… and the Wales forward scores into an empty net.

“We knew that the main threat that Manchester United have is on the transition — they are pretty lethal with the front guys they have got,” said Postecoglou after the game.

“We wanted to make sure we kind of locked them in today and that was the full-backs, and particularly Maddison and Kulusevski to be really disciplined in their football.”

On the ball, Tottenham’s rotations in midfield allowed them to play through United’s block, while their positioning protected them on the defensive transition, from which they could counter in the other direction.

A well-constructed plan and perfect execution from Tottenham — something that can’t be said of Ten Hag’s side in the last year.

“That’s how we need to play — our season starts now.”

Dejan Kulusevski perfectly summed up how the mood has been transformed among Tottenham Hotspur’s players, staff and supporters after they beat Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford.

Two weeks ago, fans were restless after Spurs lost at home to Arsenal in the north London derby. They had won only one of their first four games of the season and it looked like the problems that plagued them towards the end of the 2023-24 campaign had not been addressed. Tottenham were dominating the ball but struggling to create quality chances.

When they were losing 1-0 to Coventry City in the 87th minute of their third-round Carabao Cup tie, things threatened to become toxic. Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson led a remarkable comeback and since then, this team has looked in sync.

Sunday’s victory against Erik ten Hag’s side was the first time Tottenham have beaten a member of the Premier League’s traditional ‘Big Six’ away from home under Postecoglou and the result should kick their season into gear. The performance has to be the benchmark going forward.

GO DEEPER

The Briefing: Man United 0 Spurs 3 - What now for Ten Hag? And breaking down Van de Ven's incredible assist

Spurs were magnificent in the first half. Postecoglou’s philosophy is about bravely playing out from the back and relentlessly pressing opponents high up the pitch. There was evidence throughout this game that Tottenham’s squad are becoming more comfortable with their head coach’s demands and are unafraid to persist when things go wrong.

In the 19th minute, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven baited United’s press. Van de Ven passed the ball around Alejandro Garnacho, Timo Werner nudged it past Matthijs de Ligt and Destiny Udogie had acres of space to drive into. Udogie found Kulusevski in the box and the move ended with Johnson striking the post.

Manuel Ugarte was making his first top-flight start for United and was never allowed to settle on the ball. Dominic Solanke pressed him from behind while James Maddison and Kulusevski charged at him from the front. Noussair Mazraoui was being overwhelmed by Werner and Udogie on the left wing. Tottenham suffocated their opponents and left them feeling dizzy.

They recorded an expected goals (xG, which measures the quality of a team’s chances) figure of 4.7. Tottenham were tearing United apart even before Bruno Fernandes’ red card for a foul on Maddison in the 42nd minute. Fernandes’ dismissal was not the catalyst for their implosion but just another symptom of it.

Van de Ven is an exceptional defender and his ability to drive up the pitch gives Postecoglou an extra weapon. Fernandes, Ugarte and Mazraoui looked scared to challenge the Netherlands international as he bulldozed his way into the box and set up Johnson to open the scoring.

The star of the show was Kulusevski. It is bizarre to think the Sweden international had spent the majority of his time on the right wing at Tottenham since he joined them on an initial 18-month loan deal from Juventus in January 2022. Postecoglou used him in central midfield last year and has continued with it this season. Kulusevski’s relationship with Maddison is blossoming and they possess the talent to carve teams apart.

“They are both really good intelligent footballers,” Postecoglou said in his post-match press conference. “The way we play suits their characteristics because Maddison does so much damage with the ball and Kulusevski does so much damage with his running. It’s a good balance for us in that attacking third.

“They also had to show good discipline today because we knew that the main threat Manchester United have is in the transition. 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 Maddison and Kulusevski to be really disciplined in their football. They’re both going really well and working really hard and improving.”

Kulusevski created nine chances, more than any other visiting player in a top-flight game at Old Trafford since Opta’s records began in 2003. He should have recorded at least two assists for perfectly timed through balls that sent Werner through on goal but his team-mate shot straight at Andre Onana on both occasions. Kulusevski called it a “dream to play at Old Trafford like this”.

“I’m growing as a player and I can play to my strengths,” he told The Athletic. “I’m the 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 Rodrigo Bentancur, who is an unbelievable player when he plays like this. It looks offensive on paper but it’s working really well.

“Our pressure in the first half was unbelievable. They couldn’t get the ball out. We won it every time. We won 3-0 but if we were clinical we would have won by more.”

What makes this result more impressive is that Tottenham found a way to cope without their captain Son Heung-min. The South Korea international felt fatigue in his hamstring during Thursday’s 3-0 win against Qarabag in the Europa League. It is the first time Son has missed a game through injury since November 2022 when he suffered a fractured eye socket. There are doubts about the finishing ability of Werner, who replaced Son in the starting line-up, but he kept running past Mazraoui and one clever pass in the first half created a good opportunity for Udogie.

There were lots of other positives, including Johnson scoring for the fourth game in a row. Lucas Bergvall, who looked heartbroken when he was substituted against Qarabag following Radu Dragusin’s red card, played a major role in Solanke’s goal with a crisp corner delivery. Dragusin replaced Van de Ven for the final few minutes and had the opportunity to quickly move on from his reckless moment on Thursday. Spence came on for Udogie, who felt pain in his right quad, at half-time and performed well in and out of possession.

Postecoglou has been repeatedly saying since the opening weekend that this team is improving and on Sunday, the signs were there for all to see.

(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur have condemned supporters who sang homophobic chants during their Premier League game against Manchester United on Sunday.

One such chant was heard from the Tottenham fans’ section at Old Trafford towards the end of the first half of the game, when former Chelsea player Mason Mount was introduced for the injured Kobbie Mainoo.

The “Chelsea rent boy” chant, a homophobic slur aimed at the west London club’s current and former players and fans, has been heard regularly at Premier League games but its use has seen clubs fined and police take action in recent years.

GO DEEPER

Why do opposition fans aim homophobic chants at Chelsea and what is being done to stop it?

In January 2023, the FA added homophobic chanting to its list of rule breaches and said it can pursue action against clubs whose supporters use them at matches. In 2022, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed that it considered the term a homophobic slur and therefore a hate crime.

Another chant, relating to striker Dominic Solanke and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, was also heard.

“The club is aware of abhorrent homophobic chanting from sections of our away support at Old Trafford today,” a Tottenham statement read.

“This is simply unacceptable, hugely offensive and no way to show support for the team.

“The club will be working closely with the police and stewards to identify anyone instigating or joining in with the chanting — we shall take the strongest possible action in accordance with our sanctions and banning policy.”

Tottenham won the match 3-0 thanks to goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke.

GO DEEPER

The Briefing: Man United 0 Spurs 3 - What now for Ten Hag? And breaking down Van de Ven's incredible assist

(Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Not only do Tottenham miss goals as a result of the injury to Son Heung-min.

They also miss having one of the best creators in the Premier League. Heading into this weekend, Son had created more chances from open play (13) than any other player in the division.

Ange Postecoglou’s side will have to find that creativity from elsewhere in his absence. Over to you, Timo...

Here are how the two benches look at Old Trafford ahead of kick-off:

Man Utd: Bayindir (GK), Evans, Lindelof, Casemiro, Eriksen, Mount, Amad, Antony, Hojlund.

Tottenham: Forster (GK), Spence, Dragusin, Gray, Bissouma, Bergvall, Sarr, Moore, Lankshear.

So, Man United are pretty much as I expected. Meanwhile, it’s Timo Werner who gets the nod for the injured Son Heung-min, while Rodrigo Bentancur starts ahead of Yves Bissouma.

What do you make of these two benches and the starting XIs? Let us know in either the Discuss tab or with an email: livebloguk@theathletic.com

We are just minutes away from the team sheets being confirmed at Old Trafford, including how Ange Postecoglou has opted to fill the hole left by Son Heung-min’s injury absence this afternoon.

We’ll bring you those official XIs — and further analysis of them — as soon as we get them.

Stay turned.

Son Heung-Min’s absence is a huge blow for Tottenham. The South Korea international has not reached top form yet this season but he is their captain and an excellent finisher who can be relied upon in tight games.

With Wilson Odobert and Richarlison unavailable too, this could be an opportunity for Timo Werner to kick start his season. The 28-year-old has looked low on confidence but he could cause Manchester United’s defence with problems with his pace running in behind.

Son’s injury will also increase the pressure to perform on Spurs’ £65m club-record signing Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson, who both scored in last week’s 3-1 victory over Brentford.

Both Manchester United and Tottenham will be keeping an eye on how Aston Villa do this season — no doubt hoping to finish above them come the shake-up in May.

Well, Villa’s promising start to the season looks like continuing as things stand.

They lead 2-1 at Ipswich Town despite Liam Delap giving the hosts a surprise eighth-minute lead.

Morgan Rogers had equalised seven minutes later after some botched defending, before Ollie Watkins followed that assist by heading Villa into the lead on the half-hour mark.

Villa look comfortable, with the second half starting shortly. We’ll keep you up to date with the major developments as this one plays out at Portman Road.

Welcome to The Preview on the award-winning The Athletic FC Podcast, where each week we go deep on the biggest game of the weekend.

On this week’s episode, host Adam Leventhal is with guests Tim Spiers and Jon Mackenzie to focus on our game today as Manchester United host Tottenham at Old Trafford.

With the sides of Ange Postecoglou and Erik ten Hag sitting 10th and 11th respectively in the Premier League, today presents a huge opportunity for one to grab a jump on the other.

Listen in via your preferred podcast platform here

Son Heung-min will miss today’s trip to Manchester United.

The Tottenham captain was an injury doubt heading into the game after suffering with a hamstring problem during Thursday’s Europa League win over Qarabag and subsequently has not travelled with the rest of the squad.

Son was withdrawn 71 minutes into the 3-0 victory and head coach Ange Postecoglou confirmed on Friday that a decision would be made on the 32-year-old’s availability after training yesterday.

Son last missed a Spurs game through injury in November 2022, when he was sidelined with a fractured eye socket.

While we will have our correspondents at Old Trafford for today’s action, we very much want to hear from you too.

As usual, we have our matchday discussion open for subscribers. Simply click on the Discuss tab at the top of this feed or even easier, you can click here.

And if you’re not a subscriber, you can get involved too. Simply email us your thoughts — whether it’s a question you’ve always wanted answering, your tip for where things will be won or lost at the Theatre of Dreams, or which player you’re backing to make the difference…

Get in touch — just send your thoughts to: livebloguk@theathletic.com

I will be keeping an eye on the inbox and we will pick out the best of your thoughts to add in here too.

So, happy commenting and questioning. Liberal and creative use of emojis always encouraged.

Hello all and welcome again to our live coverage of the big Premier League fixture of the day, as Manchester United host Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

Your guess is as good as mine over what we’ll get from this pair today — but that is also half the fun of it!

We’ll have our correspondents at the ground and observers from further afield taking in and assessing all the action.

There is much more on the way before that too, as we build up to kick-off and cast an eye over the team news as soon as it breaks.

So in short, don’t go anywhere because we’ve got you covered from here.

On the latest episode of The Athletic's Manchester United podcast, Ian Irving, fresh from the stands at Old Trafford, holds court with Carl Anka, Laurie Whitwell, and Mr Andy Mitten as we cast judgement over another disappointing performance in Europe.

FC Twente, despite a rich history (one which features Erik ten Hag in three spells), have the lowest UEFA coefficient of any of United's opponent's in this season's Europa League. That didn't stop them fighting back to earn a point, though.

Christian Eriksen was robbed of possession for the Dutch side's goal; a shame as the night had been going pretty well for him. Next up for Manchester United, Eriksen's old club Tottenham.

Listen here!

The first of the two Premier League matches today is just about to get underway at Portman Road.

Newly promoted Ipswich Town are hosting Aston Villa, who have the small matter of a Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich coming up on Wednesday!

Victory for Unai Emery's side would move them level on points with league leaders Liverpool while Kieran McKenna is still looking for his first top-flight win.

Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada, pictured, has told club staff that the aim is to win the Premier League title in 2028, for the 150th anniversary of the club being formed.

Berrada, who officially joined from rivals Manchester City in June, addressed employees during a meeting at Old Trafford last Wednesday and mapped out the ambitions shared by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the football hierarchy.

Berrada informed staff of “Project 150” — so called because it coincides with the major milestone of United’s existence. The club was founded, as Newton Heath, in 1878, before changing its name to Manchester United in 1902.

That defined goal puts into context the work required on the team, with United currently 11th in the Premier League after two wins, one draw and two defeats. United also drew 1-1 in their opening game in the Europa League against FC Twente, the lowest-ranked side they will face at Old Trafford in the competition.

Read more below.

In his pre-match press conference, Ten Hag was asked whether he considers Manchester United and Tottenham as rivals for the European places.

"Definitely rivals," he said. "I think this is good because it is [going to be] a very attacking game, a very open game, a very intense game. I think it has big history, United against Tottenham.

"Both teams will be [thinking] about attacking and therefore there are always spaces which you leave then. That counts for both teams but of course we want to take control of the game and we will do everything to get this done.

"Of course this is a big challenge against Tottenham with their philosophy of the game. We are looking forward to finding the right solutions."

The concept of a full-back drifting into central midfield positions still seems relatively novel.

Yet it’s now over a decade since Pep Guardiola started doing it at Bayern Munich, taking advantage of the fact that his full-backs were Philipp Lahm and David Alaba, two outstanding technicians who both had experience of playing in the engine room for Bayern’s youth sides.

So how do Manchester United and Tottenham (and others) use their full-backs in midfield? Find out below.

The Arsenal centre-back Gabriel’s winner in September’s north London derby triggered an all-too-familiar sense of frustration for Tottenham Hotspur fans.

In 2023-24, their first season under Ange Postecoglou, they conceded 16 times from set pieces, nine of which were from corners, the sixth-worst figure in the league.

They also generated just 6.6 expected goals from their own corners across the entire season, ranking 15th.

Follow live coverage of Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League today

That, along with Arsenal’s massive improvement from similar scenarios, meant Postecoglou was questioned repeatedly about his side’s fragility from dead-ball situations, much to his frustration. After a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal in April, where his team conceded twice from corners, Postecoglou stated he did not “see it (Spurs’ set-piece defending) as an issue”.

Gabriel’s goal, which came from a Bukayo Saka corner after Cristian Romero’s lapse in concentration, brought those questions back.

Postecoglou’s response in the post-match press conference was similar: “I know for some reason people think I don’t care about set pieces, and it’s a narrative that you can keep going on for ages and ages… Like I said, we work on them all the time, like we do with every other team.”

Importantly, Postecoglou added that “for the most part, we handled them really well today”, which was true and provides reason to believe Spurs will be better at defending set pieces — specifically corners — this season.

What caused Spurs’ struggles while defending corners last season?

Spurs’ problems from defensive corners were threefold.

The first issue was their organisation. Far too often, Spurs packed the six-yard box, possibly to counter inswinging corners — understandably so as they faced a league-high 143 inswingers across the 2023-24 season.

However, this left them vulnerable to runs from the penalty spot and further behind. Spurs also largely used zonal marking, which meant their players were focused on the ball far too often. The players struggled to escape blockers and were often unaware of runs made behind them. All of these are evident in the goals below that they conceded against Arsenal, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Everton, and Newcastle United last season.

In the case of Arsenal, Everton and Newcastle, a Spurs player lost his assigned opponent and allowed them to get into a great position while failing to recover. Due to Spurs’ insistence on defending the six-yard box and their on-the-ball focus, the other defenders were unable to alter their positioning to defend the threat behind them.

In the Wolves example, Maximilian Kilman holds on to two Spurs players (Romero and Son Heung-min) to ensure Joao Gomes has the freedom to leap and place a header past Guglielmo Vicario with ease.

Vicario also contributed to Spurs’ struggles. An excellent shot-stopper from open play, the Italian looked flappable and indecisive from corners and set pieces last season. He often stayed rooted to his spot or mistimed his punches, further exacerbating Spurs’ problems.

The second reason for Spurs’ struggles was directly related to their frequent inability to track a player running behind them. Given their preference to play high up the pitch, their midfielders were slow to track back to help when teams overloaded the wings with underlaps or overlaps.

As neither Pedro Porro nor Destiny Udogie are particularly great defenders of space, this meant Spurs were vulnerable to cutbacks, which, while low in volume due to Spurs’ average possession of around 62 per cent per game, were frequently of high quality. Tottenham conceded eight goals from cutbacks last season, with only Sheffield United (12), Burnley and Crystal Palace (both 10) letting in more.

It meant situations like the ones below occurred more often than Postecoglou would have liked. Spurs’ unsettled defence were forced to clear the ball out in a hurry, often resulting in them giving away a corner.

The third and final aspect was Spurs’ tendency to give the ball away in dangerous areas.

Using data from Footovision, we can see that Spurs conceded possession in build-up more than any other team in the league last season — which led to dangerous opposition transitions.

Additionally, their opponents won possession in Spurs’ defensive third 6.5 times per match, the second-highest figure in the league.

Many of these were in wide areas, as the graph below shows, and a sizeable proportion resulted in shots or goals.

Spurs also conceded 25 shots from fast breaks last season, the joint third-worst figure in the league.

When Spurs spread out in build-up to help the team escape the opposition’s press, they can often be left scrambling to get back into position when they lose the ball — particularly in wide areas when they are defending transitions. When they are forced to close down space in these transitions, it can often result in rushed clearances that drift behind for a corner.

Where have they improved early on in 2024-25?

It is far too early to definitively determine if Spurs’ issues in transition have reduced, but Postecoglou’s second seasons usually bring improvement. If Spurs can be smarter with the ball in their own defensive third while still leaving space between their players in build-up, they will reduce opportunities for opponents to sting them.

Their defensive work in wide areas, however, has improved. Having allowed 10.3 open-play crosses per match last season, they have let in just 7.6 per game in their first five games in 2024-25. This has contributed to marginally improved numbers in most set piece and corner-related metrics as well, albeit in an extremely small sample size.

Prevention is better than cure and conceding fewer corners is the first step Spurs have taken towards improvement. For instance, Fabian Schar’s goal for Newcastle last season came from their 16th corner of the game. Tottenham also conceded eight or more corners in 10 other matches.

Spurs have also improved in defending the few they have given away as well. Nick Montgomery, who joined Postecoglou’s coaching staff this summer after leaving Hibernian, is playing a part in their set-piece organisation and the early returns are promising.

In the sequences below, including one against Arsenal, we notice more players instructed to stay tighter to the players they are marking, while multiple Spurs players are also focused on an opponent, monitoring their movement, rather than the ball.

Spurs’ physicality and communication from these situations has improved and they seem less prone to falling prey to the blocking tactic Kilman used while at Wolves in one of the examples above. Additionally, Vicario has been more proactive in stepping out and punching the ball. He has seven crosses claimed and five crosses punched away after five matches, having managed 33 and 15 respectively in 38 league games last season, though he has had a few unconvincing moments as well.

However, that is not to say they are completely invulnerable from these situations.

As Gabriel’s goal for Arsenal showed, they are still prone to the occasional lapse in concentration. Though Spurs dealt better with Everton’s set pieces during their meeting in August this season compared with their 2023-24 clashes, James Tarkowski’s runs to the far post enabled him to nod the ball back across goal on three occasions (including the two you can see below).

Spurs’ improvement, though, cannot be understated and has reflected on the offensive end as well. They are among the top five teams in the league in multiple set-piece metrics after recording middle-of-the-pack figures last season.

While it is too early to say Spurs have put their set-piece woes behind them, the seeds for improvement seem to have been sown and there are reasons for optimism.

(Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images)

Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham Hotspur will make a late call on the availability of captain Son Heung-min ahead of Sunday’s Premier League fixture against Manchester United.

Son was substituted after 71 minutes during Thursday’s Europa League victory over Qarabag at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after feeling fatigue in his hamstring. He received medical attention on the pitch shortly after Dominic Solanke had scored Tottenham’s third goal, before being replaced by Timo Werner.

“Still early days from last night,” Postecoglou said on Friday. “The boys are fairly tired, the ones who put in a shift.

“Apart from Sonny, everyone’s OK. And Sonny I don’t think’s too bad. He wants to train tomorrow so we’ll see how it goes at training tomorrow and make a decision from there. We have another day up our sleeve to give him every chance.”

GO DEEPER

Tottenham briefing: Dragusin's missed chance, Johnson fires again and Vicario shines

Son last missed a Spurs game through injury in November 2022, when he was sidelined with a fractured eye socket.

The 32-year-old has made seven appearances in all competitions this season, providing two goals and two assists. He was the club’s top scorer last season with 17 goals in all competitions.

Son spoke to the media ahead of Thursday’s Europa League opener and said he and the club were yet to talk about his contract, with his existing deal set to expire in 2025.

On the forward’s contract, Postecoglou added: “I don’t always have the final say but certainly I like to think my input is significant on it. Look, I think it is part of a broader discussion around Sonny but the way he is performing and leading the club at the moment, I certainly want him to stick around for a while.”

When asked if Son’s workload needs to be managed going forward, Postecoglou said: “No. I would have wanted to ease his workload in this early part of the year but we lost Wilson (Odobert), Richy (Richarlison), and Dominic (Solanke). Invariably in football sometimes it is not the amount of injuries but the kind of injuries.

“He has played more than I certainly want him to. The idea of signing Dom and bringing in Wilson, extending Timo’s loan was so that we can manage his load, because he has international football as well, a little bit better. It’s something I am mindful of, it is just the circumstances so far. Sonny always wants to play. That is his attitude But we have to be sensible.

“I don’t think it has too much to do with his age because I haven’t seen that affect him. It’s more I don’t think that the workload in the modern game is sustainable. We have spoken a lot about fixture overload and I think I said last week that part of that responsibility lies with us to protect our players, while the calendar is like this, and certainly with Sonny we are going to have to be mindful of that.”

Spurs were 3-0 winners over Qarabag on Thursday despite Radu Dragusin’s early red card.

Postecoglou’s side are 10th in the Premier League after taking seven points from their opening five matches. United, meanwhile, are 11th with the same record as the north London side. They were also in Europa League action this week, drawing 1-1 at home with FC Twente.

(Warren Little/Getty Images)

Liverpool have been drawn against Brighton & Hove Albion in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after thrashing West Ham United on Wednesday evening.

West Ham took the lead after Jarell Quansah put through his own net but two goals either side of half-time from Diogo Jota put the hosts in command. Mohamed Salah scored off the bench before Cody Gakpo netted a quickfire brace of his own to complete a resounding 5-1 victory for the holders.

Newcastle United’s third-round match against AFC Wimbledon was postponed on Tuesday due to flooding and will now take place at St James’ Park on October 1. The winner of that tie will play host to Chelsea, who routed League Two leaders Barrow courtesy of a Christopher Nkunku hat-trick, Pedro Neto’s first goal for the club and a Paul Farman own goal.

Elsewhere, Manchester City — six-time winners of the competition in the past 10 years — travel to Tottenham Hotspur while Manchester United take on Leicester City.

Championship outfit Preston North End’s reward for their penalty shootout win over Fulham is a visit from Arsenal, who progressed with a 5-1 win over Bolton Wanderers.

Carabao Cup fourth-round draw in full

Ties will be played across Tuesday, October 29 and Wednesday, October 30.

Brentford vs Sheffield Wednesday

Southampton vs Stoke

Tottenham vs Man City

AFC Wimbledon or Newcastle vs Chelsea

Manchester United vs Leicester City

Brighton vs Liverpool

Preston vs Arsenal

Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace

Carabao Cup 2024-25 dates

Quarter-finals: Week starting December 16

Semi-finals: Weeks starting January 6 and February 3

Final: Sunday, March 16

(Visionhaus/Getty Images)