The Independent

Micah Richards has highlighted a tactical ‘masterstroke’ from Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou that he believes led to their dominant 3-0 victory over Manchester United.

Bruno Fernandes was controversially sent off as a dismal United were swept aside at Old Trafford to heap further pressure on manager Erik ten Hag, who now faces a crucial week in the fight to keep his job with matches against Porto and Aston Villa upcoming.

Amid the rightful condemnation of Man Utd’s performance, the impressive nature of Spurs’ display has slightly got lost in the shuffle, with goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke doing the damage to lift them to eighth in the Premier League table as a slow start of just four points from their first four games is being washed away.

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, pundit Richards was keen to give credit to Spurs and in particular manager Postecoglou’s decision to play Kulusevski in a hybrid No 8/No 10 role, allowing him to get forward and impact the game in the final third.

“Tactically, looking at it, Kulusevski we know he can play along the frontline – left, centre, right,” explained Richards. “But the fact he [Postecoglou] has gone with Johnson and [Timo] Werner on the wings, Solanke up front and sort of Kulusevski in that No 8 role where he pops into the No 10 role and switches with [James] Maddison – I just think it’s a masterstroke.

“A lot of managers there would have gone more defensive, with a [Pape] Sarr in that position alongside [Rodrigo] Bentancur and had Maddison in front. But he’s gone with Kulusevski, who we know can dribble very well, he can see a pass, he can shoot, he can score – all the good things.

“Those are the little bits that Ange needs a lot of credit for. Everyone talks about Spurs being kamikaze – they’re all or nothing. But he’s put players into a system where there’s energy.

“Werner had a couple of, I woudn’t say sitters, but for you guys, he should be putting them away. But the positons he’s getting into is what I look at it. If [Heung-min] Son is in that position, it’s probably two goals for him. I like that tactical tweak that he’s done.

“It allows the team to get really high, they press really high, win the ball back, dominate the ball. The timing of the passing was really good from Spurs – knowing when to quicken it up, knowing when to slow it down. I thought Spurs were brilliant and to have that performance at Old Trafford after a difficult start to the season, a manager sticking to his principles – brilliant win.”

Richard’s co-hosts Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker were equally effusive in their praise of Tottenham, with Lineker impressed by their attacking football and particularly highlighting the assist from Micky van de Ven for the first goal – as the centre back dribbled all the way from his own half to square the ball to Johnson for a tap-in.

“A slow start to the season, four points after four games but won last two,” said Lineker. “A thumping victory at Old Trafford is a great statement. They play front-foot football, they go high, they’re aggressive, they attack. I thought they were terrific. And Van de Ven’s run for the first goal - WOW! If it had been five or six [goals], you couldn’t have complained.”

Tottenham Hotspur have told their supporters to expect the “strongest possible action” to any found to be chanting homophobic slurs, after the win over Manchester United on Sunday.

Spurs beat the Red Devils 3-0 with a fine performance on the pitch, but off it their fans drew criticism for perceived homophobic abuse, believed to be in a song for Dominic Solanke, who scored the third.

The homophobic section of the chant does not relate to the Tottenham striker.

In full, the statement read:

“The Club is aware of 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.

“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.

“We shall be continuing our work with our LGBTQ+ supporters’ association, Proud Lilywhites, to ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans on matchdays.

“We are justly proud of our superb and loyal support, home and away. However, we all have a responsibility to act as ambassadors of Tottenham Hotspur and discrimination of any kind has no place at our Club.”

Reacting to the statement and the chants from inside the stadium, the supporters’ association reminded fans that such language prevented inclusivity.

“We’re all Spurs fans just like you,” Proud Lilywhites said on X. “When you sing these songs, you’re telling us we don’t belong; and we do, as much as you do.”

Bruno Fernandes said his tackle on James Maddison was “never a red card” after the Manchester United captain was sent off in the 3-0 defeat to Tottenham.

The Portuguese was shown a straight red card by referee Chris Kavanagh shortly before half time with United a goal down at Old Trafford.

Fernandes, who was sent off for the first time in his United career, received the red card for “serious foul play” despite protesting his innocence.

Fernandes appeared to flick his studs at Maddison and was knee-high with his challenge, but he appeared to slip and lose his footing before raising his studs.

The point of contact was also below Maddison’s knee, on his shin, and Fernandes caught him with the back of his heel after diving in.

Fernandes volunteered to speak to Sky Sports after the full-time whistle and claimed that Maddison admitted to him that his tackle was not worthy of a red card.

The 30-year-old also expressed his surprise that Kavanagh was so quick to send him off and questioned why the referee was not referred to the pitchside monitor for a review.

A statement from the Premier League Match Centre said the VAR “checked and confirmed the referee’s call of serious foul play.”

"I don’t take him as everyone wants to see it. I don’t go in with the studs, I take him with my ankle, it’s a clear foul but never a red card,” Fernandes told Sky Sports.

"Even Maddison when he gets up, he said it was a foul but never a red card.

"You can see it’s never a red card and if it is, we have to look at many other incidents. I have many incidents against me and I’ve never seen it come so quick as a red card.

"The contact is not that strong. If he wants to give me a yellow because it’s a counter-attack, I agree and I don’t know why VAR doesn’t call the referee to the screen.

"For me, it’s not a good decision."

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville said Fernandes’ red card summed up their performance under Erik ten Hag.

“He has gone knee high Bruno Fernandes. I think he slips just before the tackle, but he is not going to get away with it,” Neville said on Sky Sports.

“It is not as bad as I initially thought, but it sums up Man United first half which has been an absolute disgrace. It’s one of the worst performances I have seen under Ten Hag – and that is saying something. It is really bad.”

However, all three studio pundits on Sky Sports – Jamie Redknapp, Ashley Young and Darren Bent – thought the red card was harsh and Fernandes was unlucky.

“He slips,” former Tottenham and Liverpool midfielder Redknapp said. “As you can see when he goes in for the challenge his feet go from under him.

“It’s petty, it’s a bit petulant, but his feet go under him and he sticks out his right leg. I think it’s a yellow card."

Former Manchester United and England winger Young agreed. “I don’t think it’s serious foul play or it’s reckless,” he said.

“OK he’s out of control but he slips and you can clearly see he slips. I don’t think he goes to take out Maddison either and he clips him with the back of his heel as well. I think the referee is wrong there.”

Former Tottenham striker Bent said it was a “poor decision” from the referee.

“The first time we saw it at full speed, we were thinking it’s naughty,” he said. “But when you see it [in the replay] he catches him on the shin pad with the back of his heel, he slips.

“I think it’s petulant more than anything. Maddison is about to get away and he stops him. To reach for the red card, for me it’s a poor decision.”

Gary Neville slammed an “absolutely disgusting” performance from Manchester United as Tottenham won 3-0 at Old Trafford to increase the pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.

The dismal hosts fell to their third defeat of the Premier League campaign after just six games as captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off for “serious foul play” late in the first half.

Tottenham, who led thanks to Brennan Johnson’s early goal, added two more after the break with Old Trafford emptying rapidly after Dominic Solanke’s third sealed all three points.

It meant there were barely any fans left to boo the team as United fell to successive 3-0 defeats at home in the Premier League, following Liverpool’s comfortable win at the start of the month.

Fernandes’ red card certainly helped Tottenham but Ange Postecoglou’s side were fully deserving of their victory and Neville said United’s performance with 11 men was even more concerning.

Ten Hag will be under more pressure ahead of trips to Porto and Aston Villa this week, after United made the decision to stick with the Dutchman this summer.

United needed a result after uninspiring draws against Crystal Palace and FC Twente last week but they failed to convince and Neville was damning in his assessment.

"The big story today is that in that first half,” he said on Sky Sports. “You can’t say it came from nowhere because Manchester United have been inconsistent all season, but they have chosen to put in their very worst performance, their very worst possible showing.

“It was an absolutely disgusting performance in that first half in effort, quality, everything you want in a football team and there are going to be questions to answer for that group (of players) and the manager in the next week.”

Neville had been scathing even before half time as he called United an “absolute disgrace” with his former team second best in all departments against Postecoglou’s sharp side.

He was also not impressed with Fernandes’ red card, which came after a knee-high lunge on James Maddison after losing his footing, but said it was the worst he had seem them under Ten Hag.

"It is not as bad as I initially thought, but it sums up Man United first half which has been an absolute disgrace. It’s one of the worst performances I have seen under Ten Hag - and that is saying something. It is really bad."

During his early co-commentator duties, Neville had lamented: "It has been as bad as it gets - no urgency, no life in them.

"United have all the bodies back there, but they may as well be statues or mannequins. Tottenham are just cutting through at will. Manchester United in this first half-hour are really bad. The crowd aren’t engaged at all."

For Erik ten Hag, a list of dreadful days as Manchester United manager was already rather too long. Quite where this ranks is a moot point, but it was wretched, both shocking and yet familiar. Outclassed by Tottenham Hotspur even before they were outnumbered by them, United again looked an expensive, incoherent mess.

While Ten Hag was serenaded by the Spurs fans with chants of “sacked in the morning”, one of United’s leaders actually did get his marching orders. Bruno Fernandes’s red card was a symptom of United’s problems: passive for too long, they were petulant at times, their attempts to halt Tottenham verging on the desperate, their plans falling apart.

On Thursday, Ten Hag claimed that United had turned a corner. Instead, this season feels a continuation of the last – a campaign that could be littered with ignominies. An eighth defeat in 20 league games at Old Trafford underlines how far they have fallen. United’s new hierarchy can talk of winning the title by 2028 but they are already six points off fifth, in the bottom half and with a negative goal difference.

The table may not lie. Just as Liverpool did last month, Spurs exposed the gulf with rivals. Tottenham have similar immediate aims, of Champions League qualification this season, but whereas United’s looked built on delusion, there seems a realism to theirs.

They have been inconsistent for much of the last 11 months. Aston Villa were the only big-eight opponents Spurs had beaten in 2024. But such an emphatic, excellent win showcased the ambition of Ange Postecoglou’s blueprint. It was his finest afternoon, at least since his heady start last autumn.

His side had assurance in possession, a tactical set-up that always seemed to give them someone in space even before they had a one-man advantage, and a counter-attacking threat. They had the magnificent Micky van de Ven, the classy James Maddison, the outstanding Dejan Kulusevski and the feelgood story of Brennan Johnson’s redemption arc. There were more advertisements for Tottenham’s recruitment policy than United’s on the pitch.

And yet, while there was much for them to savour, the emblematic minute for the hosts came when United contrived to lose two-thirds of their midfield. Fernandes was deservedly dismissed for a lunge at Maddison, directing his studs at the Tottenham midfielder’s knee. The mitigation may have been that the Portuguese slipped, but it was a high challenge with the wrong foot.

He exited along with the hamstrung Kobbie Mainoo. If a makeshift midfield beckons, the one survivor among the starters, Manuel Ugarte, was awful on his first league start, outwitted and outmanoeuvred by Spurs. Mason Mount came on and promptly got booked. Ten Hag sent an SOS to Casemiro at half-time; in fairness, he acquitted himself better than the others. For a while, United looked better with 10 men than 11, though that was another indictment.

The hosts were flattered by a 1-0 scoreline at the break. It soon changed.

Spurs’ lead was doubled when Kulusevski improvised a volley from Johnson’s deflected cross. Dominic Solanke, who scored in a 3-0 win at Old Trafford for Bournemouth last season, added a third, sliding in after Postecoglou’s substitutes combined: Lucas Bergvall’s corner being flicked on by Pape Matar Sarr. Faulted when they concede from set-pieces, Spurs scored from one here. There was a rounded element to their game, a creativity to Tottenham to complement the pace of Van de Ven and Timo Werner.

The German started as Spurs were without the injured Son Heung-Min – though by half-time, neither side had their club captain – which perhaps spared United a thrashing. His deputy, the often erratic Werner, was twice denied by Andre Onana, in a combination of unconvincing finishing and fine goalkeeping. The Cameroonian also stopped Solanke from making it four. His was a damage-limitation job, but Ten Hag was wounded nonetheless.

There was scant evidence to suggest United were right to keep him in the summer. And perhaps the familiarity of it just illustrated the scale of the malaise.

The new Women's Super League marks the start of a new era for reigning champions Chelsea, with long-serving boss Emma Hayes having departed in summer to start a new adventure with the USA Women's team.

Last year they just about did enough to claim the title on goal difference ahead of Manchester City, while Arsenal will again hope to make it a three-horse race for the WSL title. Meanwhile Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham will hope to progress after further rebuilding this summer.

Crystal Palace were promoted to replace Bristol City in the top flight, while on a wider note, the league is now under the management and operation of a new organisation set up to lead women's football towards further growth and progression, with Nikki Doucet overseeing both the WSL and Championship in a new phase for the game.

Follow the live action below as Aston Villa face Tottenham Hotspur today in the WSL:

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off against Tottenham after receiving a straight red card for a tackle on James Maddison.

The Portuguese was shown a straight red card by referee Chris Kavanagh shortly before half time with United a goal down at Old Trafford. United would lose 3-0.

Fernandes, who was sent off for the first time in his United career, received the red card for “serious foul play” despite protesting his innocence.

Fernandes appeared to flick his studs at Maddison and was knee-high with his challenge.

He was sent off even though he appeared to slip and lose his footing before raising his studs.

The point of contact was also below Maddison’s knee, on his shin, and Fernandes caught him with the back of his heel after diving in.

The 30-year-old protested to referee Kavanagh by pointing to his head before leaving the pitch.

“The referee issued a red card to Fernandes for a challenge on Maddison,” a statement from the Premier League Match Centre said.

“The VAR checked and confirmed the referee’s call of serious foul play.”

VAR could have downgraded the red card to yellow if it deemed it was “reckless” rather than “serious foul play”.

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville said Fernandes’ red card summed up their performance under Erik ten Hag.

“He has gone knee high Bruno Fernandes. I think he slips just before the tackle, but he is not going to get away with it,” Neville said on Sky Sports.

“It is not as bad as I initially thought, but it sums up Man United first half which has been an absolute disgrace.

“It’s one of the worst performances I have seen under Ten Hag - and that is saying something. It is really bad.”

However, all three studio pundits on Sky Sports - Jamie Redknapp, Ashley Young and Darren Bent - thought the red card was harsh and Fernandes was unlucky.

“He slips,” former Tottenham and Liverpool midfielder Redknapp said. “As you can see when he goes in for the challenge his feet go from under him.

“It’s petty, it’s a bit petulant, but his feet go under him and he sticks out his right leg. I think it’s a yellow card."

Former Manchester United and England winger Young agreed. “I don’t think it’s serious foul play or it’s reckless,” he said.

“OK he’s out of control but he slips and you can clearly see he slips.

“I don’t think he goes to take out Maddison either and he clips him with the back of his heel as well. I think the referee is wrong there.”

Former Tottenham striker Bent said it was a “poor decision” from the referee.

“The first time we saw it at full speed, we were thinking it’s naughty,” he said.

“But when you see it [in the replay’, he catches him on the shin pad with the back of his heel, he slips.

“I think it’s petulant more than anything. Maddison is about to get away and he stops him. To reach for the red card, for me it’s a poor decision.”

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Manchester United host Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday’s late game in the Premier League at Old Trafford.

Both sides have had a mixed start to the season, with United entering the game off the back of a frustrating stalemate with Crystal Palace last weekend before another draw against FC Twente in the Europa League in midweek.

Erik ten Hag’s side know that a win against Spurs could prove pivotal in the top four race, even this early into the season, and they face a Spurs side who are just one place above them, with both clubs on seven points.

Ange Postecoglou’s team put consecutive losses to Newcastle and Arsenal behind them last week as they beat Brentford 3-1 at home, with Dominic Solanke getting his first goal for the club, and they beat Qarabag in midweek as they too began their Europa League campaign.

Here’s everything you need to know about the game.

When is Manchester United vs Tottenham?

The match will kick off at 4:30pm BST on Sunday, 29 September, at Old Trafford in Manchester.

How can I watch it?

The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with the build-up starting from 4pm BST.

If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

What is the team news?

Manuel Ugarte makes his first start for Manchester United. He replaces Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee all start.

Manchester United remain without defensive quartet Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof, Leny Yoro and Tyrell Malacia, but are not thought to have any fresh injury concerns from their midweek business against FC Twente.

Son Heung-min misses out after limping off Tottenham’s win over Qarabag in midweek. He is replaced by Timo Werner, with Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski also starting in an attacking line-up named by Ange Postecoglou.

Radu Dragusin is available with his sending off against Qarabag resulting in a suspension only in continental competition, though Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are established as the first-choice centre-half duo regardless.

Starting line-ups

Man Utd XI: Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot, Mainoo, Ugarte, Fernandes, Garnacho, Zirkzee, Rashford.

Spurs XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie; Maddison, Bentancur; Johnson, Kulusevski, Werner; Solanke.

Odds

Manchester United 11/10

Draw 2/1

Tottenham 6/4

Prediction

The odds show that is is a tough game to call, and really it depends on which version of both teams decides to show up on the day. With United at home they undoubtedly have the upper hand, but Spurs will have enough to trouble them and the home side don’t seem to be firing on all cylinders in attack. Manchester United 1-1 Tottenham.

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The manager of Qarabag was left furious at the traffic in London after his side were forced to endure a two-and-a-half hour delay before their Europa League defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs emerged as 3-0 victors to kick start their European campaign in style despite Radu Dragusin’s early sending off against the Azerbaijani champions.

Kick off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was delayed by 35 minutes after the visitors were caught up in wider problems on the roads.

And while not seeking to blame the situation for his side’s defeat, Gurban Gurbanov admitted that their extended journey had made a “big impact”.

“Imagine being caught in traffic for two-and-a-half hours?” Gurbanov fumed. “I don’t want to make excuses, but it shouldn’t have happened because we had to come by ourselves.

“We had no police to escort us and obviously it had a big impact on our footballers, but it doesn’t take anything away from our opponent. They were a good team.”

Qarabag arrived at the stadium at about 7.45pm BST, 15 minutes before the originally scheduled start, with organisers pushing back kick off to 8.35pm.

Goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Matar Sarr and Dominic Solanke ensured that ten-man Tottenham made an encouraging start to the revamped competition, which will see each participant play eight times in an initial league phase.

After a long journey back to the Caucasus, Qarabag face Sabah in a top-of-the-table clash on Sunday.