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Matthijs de Ligt was part of a creaking Red Devils defence in 3-0 home thrashing

His arrival from Bayern Munich was intended to shore up the United back line

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Jamie Carragher has slammed Manchester United's £43million summer signing Matthijs de Ligt for being 'completely out of position all the time' during his side's humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Dutchman reunited with manager Erik ten Hag over the summer and it was hoped his arrival from Bayern Munich would bolster the Red Devils' unreliable defence.

But he has endured a tough start at Old Trafford and is part of a back four which has conceded three goals in consecutive home matches, having also struggled in the defeat to Liverpool.

On Sunday the defensive line looked as creaky as ever as Spurs crashed through United with ease and rained shots down on goalkeeper Andre Onana's goal.

And Sky Sports pundit Carragher has launched a scathing attack on De Ligt for his tendency to stay in a central position and not move across to the right-hand side while defending.

Analysing the opening goal, which came after a surging run from Tottenham centre-back Micky van de Ven, he said: 'I've noticed this a little bit with De Ligt and a lot of centre-backs.

'I don't understand why they don't fill the space and come over - I see this so much.

'The striker behind him has got nothing to do with him. That is [Lisandro] Martinez's job. If De Ligt goes over, Martinez comes across.

'Now again he's actually looking over his shoulder here - forget that! Forget it, get here [to the right-hand side].

'It was a brilliant run, it was amazing, but van de Ven runs because he sees the space.'

Brennan Johnson was on hand to tap the ball home after a low cross, handing the forward his fourth goal in four games, but he could have had a second shortly after when he struck the United post.

Carragher also pointed out that De Ligt had failed to fill in the space during the build-up to this chance.

'Again I want to go to De Ligt,' he said. 'Now they're locked in here so you've got a front three of Tottenham locking the back four in.

'There's two men versus one player there. De Ligt should already be over here [further right] and [Noussair] Mazraoui should be in this position here [also further right].

'If we run it on, just look at it. De Ligt who comes flying across, goes flying into the challenge - very similar to a challenge he put in against I think Luis Diaz for Liverpool - because he comes from a starting position.'

Carragher then analysed a third example where de Ligt had not shuffled across leaving Timo Werner to run through on goal, only to fire a shot straight at Andre Onana.

'Two massive chances and the goal, de Ligt, a player they brought in for huge money, is completely out of position all the time so he ends up having to go flying into challenge and then you leave yourself in a situation where you can get yellow cards and red cards.'

The win made it four wins in a row in all competitions for Ange Postecoglou's side and, were it not for some heroics from Onana, Spurs could have had six or seven.

The away team scored early in each half to set the tone, Johnson's tap in coming inside three minutes, before Dejan Kulusevski stretched home in the second.

In between, United's Bruno Fernandes received a red card for a dangerous tackle to all but confirm the outcome of the Old Trafford encounter.

Dominic Solanke scored late on to quash a spirited United revival and provide the cue for thousands of home fans to head home into a rainy Manchester night.

Not every pundit has been so critical of de Ligt. Earlier this month former Liverpool man Danny Murphy praised the centre-back after the side's victory over Southampton and suggested his partnership with Martinez might provide the solution to the Red Devils' defensive woes.

He said: 'There are encouraging signs they could be the solid central defensive pairing Erik ten Hag has craved.

'Both players looked aggressive in wanting to win the ball and use their physicality to impact the game.

'The important thing for Ten Hag was to see them gel as a partnership. The positioning between them was good — rarely far apart. Martinez's distribution was brilliant and De Ligt got a goal to lift him after a difficult international break.'

The good news for Manchester United is that, as the rain came down, the roof didn’t leak. They have managed to fix something at last at this great, beleaguered football club it seems.

That is where the positive stuff starts and ends, though. Erik ten Hag and his send ‘em out and hope for the best tactical masterplan continues to steer United down an alleyway marked irrelevant.

Ten Hag’s team have scored five goals so far this Premier League season and three of those came against Southampton. Leicester, Ipswich, Wolves and Everton have all scored more than Ten Hag’s failing bunch. Seems the seven they banged in against Barnsley here in the Carabao Cup a couple of weeks ago were not portentous of better times to come after all. Who would have thought it?

Here at a stadium that saved its ire for the referee, United were out played, out run and out thought by a Tottenham team and manager that embody everything they are not.

Tottenham and their manager Ange Postecoglou are not a perfect football team. Indeed they are quite beautifully flawed. But they are a team that likes to have the ball, likes to play with pace and with confidence and fundamentally knows what it is, what it would like to be and how it would like to play.

It doesn’t always work. Of course it doesn’t and it remains to be seen whether Tottenham can prove themselves a course and distance team this time around. But the beauty about Postecoglou and his players is that you could dress them in another colour and ask them to wear face masks and you would still know it was them after five minutes of watching.

United? The only thing that marks them out as recognisable is their enduringly moribund results and the state of supreme denial that continues to cloud the judgements and the public pronouncements of their manager.

United have had their investment. That came last year from Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group. Tottenham may yet have some of their own. Amanda Staveley, no longer tied to Newcastle United’s Saudi experiment, is sniffing around the edges. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy pretty much confirmed it at a fans’ forum last week.

For Tottenham some new money would represent another paving stone laid on a path towards prominence, stability and, perhaps at some point, some genuine success on the field. They already have the stadium and now have a manager in tune with what they claim to be their traditional values of risk and reward. United, for their part, hardly have any of that. They have some drawings now of what a new stadium may look like. The ‘Wembley of the North’ is what Ratcliffe calls it. Whether anyone has asked the north what it thinks, wants and needs is a conversation for another day.

On the field and off, United are lumbering. Tottenham, at the very least, have a recognisable stride pattern and this was one of the afternoons where the football fell into place for Postecoglou.

Tottenham were excellent from first minute to last. They should have scored more goals, striking a post and somehow failing to convert four one-on-one opportunities. Timo Werner – filling in for the hamstrung Heung-Min Son - missed two of them. Out of interest, has anyone ever seen the German score one of those?

This was Tottenham as Postecoglou sees them when he closes his eyes at night, though. Quick in thought and deed and fleet of foot, the visiting team pressed United in to their own half and squeezed and squeezed until something popped. Here it took just three minutes, their dashing central defender Micky van de Ven gliding through a huge gap in the red sea to set up Brennan Johnson at the far post.

Tottenham were dominant thereafter. A better plan, a better attitude and better energy levels. Better players? Maybe. A better manager? Most certainly.

Patterns. That is what you see when you look at Postecoglou’s Tottenham. They were there earlier in the season when they were drawing unjustly at Leicester and losing equally harshly at Newcastle United. The results were not there but the patterns were and, to a degree, so were the performances. It was possible to look at that and see what was coming. It’s the same with United, only in a completely different and altogether less flattering way.

In the Tottenham midfield here, James Maddison was lovely to watch. He sits deep in Postecoglou’s formation but sets wheels in motion and is often there to join in as the move develops. He remains a beautifully deft footballer.

Asked about the dove tailing of Maddison and the scorer of the second goal, Dejan Kulusevski, Postecoglou put it neatly. ‘Maddison does damage with the ball and Kulusevski with his running,’ said the Tottenham manager.

Spurs now have an attacking focal point, too, in a way that United do not. Ten Haag asks players like Bruno Fernandes and Joshua Zirkzee to exist in and around a central striking position. It may work in the long run. Currently it is not. Tottenham’s formation is easier to identify. A wide player either side of Dominic Solanke.

The former Bournemouth striker continues to feel his way a little at his new club. He was not at his best here. But he did score and, just as importantly, occupied the United central defenders in a way that nobody did at the other end of the field.

Ten Hag was within his rights to identify Fernandes’ red card as a crucial moment. It was a little harsh. Equally he was correct when he talked of the stress he saw in his players as soon as they conceded such an early goal. Tottenham smelled that, too, and capitalised on it.

All managers want to see repeat characteristics of play and both managers will have seen them here, just in different ways. When United play badly, they tend to do so in exactly the same way. Tottenham, set up as they always are, were the perfect opponent to capitalise.

Postecoglou and his players will hit more bumps in their own road. This week they travel to Hungary in Europe, for example, and next Sunday are at Brighton. It’s not easy.

They know what they are doing, though. They know who they are and what they are.

United? All Ten Hag had to offer on Sunday night was a suggestion that today would be a ‘new day’. What good a new day, though, if it’s shot through with the same problems that ruined the one that came before it?

Chelsea made a post on social media just minutes after United's loss to Spurs

Sancho, who is at Chelsea on loan from the Red Devils, even reposted the image

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Chelsea have twisted the knife further into Manchester United after fans noticed the curious timing of a social media post that featured Red Devils loanee Jadon Sancho.

Despite going down to 10 men in the first half against Tottenham after Bruno Fernandes was sent off, the Red Devils rarely looked like laying a punch on Tottenham in a 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford.

The result has Erik ten Hag's side sitting in 12th on the ladder with just two wins from six Premier League games.

United's display against Tottenham was widely panned by pundits, with Red Devils icon Gary Neville going as far as describing it 'pub football' and 'an absolute disgrace' in a savage takedown.

It now looks like Chelsea got in on the act, although it remains unknown if the timing of a certain post was intentional.

Just minutes after referee Chris Kavanagh blew for full time and put United out of their misery at Old Trafford, Chelsea posted a picture of four-goal hero Cole Palmer and Sancho.

The Blues did not even write a caption for the post as they simply added a smiling emoji and a blue circle.

Sancho even reposted the image on his own X account.

Chelsea fans took great delight at the curious timing of the post.

One fan wrote on X: 'Posting this after Manchester United loss is absolute banter from Chelsea admin and I love it.'

Another said: 'The timing of this post is just perfect.'

A supporter added: 'Admin knows exactly what he's doing.'

United's loss has proved to be Chelsea's gain when it comes to Sancho this season, as the winger recorded his third league assist for the Blues in their 4-2 win over Brighton on Saturday.

Sancho started at left wing for Enzo Maresca's side and provided the assist for Palmer's fourth against the Seagulls.

The forward moved on a season-long loan to Chelsea on deadline day from United, with the Blues obligated to make the move permanent for just £23million at the end of the season.

It is a major fall in value from when Sancho signed for United in a £73m deal from Borussia Dortmund three years ago.

Sancho faced the prospect of significantly reduced playing time this season after he was frozen out by Ten Hag following a public falling out between the pair last year.

The 24-year-old secured a loan move back to Dortmund for the second half of the 2023-24 season and even featured in the Champions League final.

Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scored in a 3-0 win

Two of those goals came after Bruno Fernandes was sent off in the 42nd minute

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou was delighted with his team's 'outstanding performance' during Sunday's 3-0 win at Manchester United.

Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke all found the net for Spurs, who could easily have won by a wider margin after registering 24 shots in total.

Two of Tottenham's goals came after Bruno Fernandes had been sent off for a challenge on James Maddison in the 42nd minute that was ruled to be serious foul play.

Fernandes said after the game that it was 'never a red card' and claimed that Maddison had agreed with him on the pitch.

But Postecoglou felt that the sending off was a consequence of the 'enormous pressure' that United's players were being put under by his team.

Postecoglou began his post-match interview with BBC Sport by saying: 'It was an outstanding performance. We started the game really well, scored a great goal and probably should have had two or three.

'Then just the pressure I think overwhelms them and they get a red card. After that, again, we controlled the game really well. An outstanding effort from all the lads.

He added: 'I think the red card was a consequence of how we were going. We were just putting enormous pressure on them, the amount of chances we were creating and we weren't really letting them out of their half. Our football was good as well. It was a strong all-round performance.'

Asked about the importance of scoring early and whether it was a key part of his plan, he replied: 'Yeah, you obviously want to [score early] but it doesn't always happen.

'I said to the boys that in our last two games [which were both wins], we conceded in the first 20 seconds against Brentford and then we had a man sent off in the first eight minutes [against Qarabag]. So I think it's about dealing with what you have out there and that was our fourth win in a row. We've won them in different ways but always stayed true to the principles we have with our football.'

Asked what the momentum gained from winning four games in a row might do for his team, Postecoglou responded: 'It helps. I think our performances in the league all year have been really strong. We just haven't had that cutting edge.

'Obviously, it helps that we've now got Dom [Solanke] back and he's scoring goals, and Brennan's scoring goals as well. So I think our form has been consistent but when you get the wins... you want them to feel the reward, to feel like they feel right now because it's going to need another effort in the next game to get us there.'

Postecoglou had been visibly frustrated by some of his team's missed chances at Old Trafford. He explained: 'I've no complaints but I'm a human being, so when we miss changes it is [frustrating] - more for the players themselves, because we played some unbelievable football and you want them to get the reward for that. But no complaints at all today.'

With his side 1-0 down the Portuguese midfielder scraped Maddison on the shin

United went on to lose 3-0 in woeful display to heap pressure on Erik ten Hag

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The Premier League has released a statement explaining Chris Kavanagh's decision to show Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes a red card in his side's crushing 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

The midfielder was sent off just before half-time after he lashed out at Spurs star James Maddison following a frustrating first 45 minutes.

The incident, which happened while the away side were leading 1-0, all but settled the result on Sunday afternoon with Ange Postecoglou's outfit later adding two second-half goals.

After the match, Fernandes and his under-pressure manager Erik Ten Hag both slammed the decision with the Portuguese saying that the tackle was 'a clear foul but never a red card'.

Now the Premier League have confirmed the reasoning behind the huge call, which condemns the United man to a spell on the sidelines.

It said: 'The referee issued a red card to Fernandes for a challenge on Maddison. The VAR checked and confirmed the referee's call of serious foul play.'

Finishes from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke built on Brennan Johnson's third-minute opener and gave Tottenham their fourth consecutive win in all competitions.

In the aftermath of what proved to be the key incident of the encounter, Fernandes could be seen chatting with Maddison on the pitch. Following the match, the United man revealed what was discussed.

He said: 'I just wanted to come and talk and be myself because my team-mates deserve that for what they have done in the game playing with one man less – particularly as I was the man sent off, the one that let them down.

'I think we struggled a bit and then the red card makes it worse. I have to appreciate all the effort my team-mates have done to try and return to the game, but it wasn't possible. The team showed a lot of character, a lot of resilience, a lot of fight. They tried. It wasn't easy.

'No one likes to be sent off. It's not a good feeling. We end up conceding another two goals.

'I don't go in with the studs, it's a clear foul but never a red card. Maddison said it is a foul but it's not a red card. If this is a red card we have to look at other incidents. I think it's never a red card. It's a foul if he wants to give a yellow. I don't understand why VAR doesn't call the referee to the screen.'

Ten Hag added: 'The red card changes the game. I don't think it was a red card.'

Man United legend and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said that Fernandes could have no complaints about the sending off.

'It just sums up Manchester United in this first half, to be fair they've been an absolute disgrace,' he said. 'It's one of the worst performances I've seen in Erik ten Hag's time at Manchester United and that's saying something.

'It's been really bad. And he will not be able to believe what he's watched. I'm not talking patterns of play, I'm talking application to a football match. And now, his captain sent off.

'When players react like that, it means something has gone on that we haven't seen initially. He's gone knee high Bruno Fernandes. I think he slips just before the tackle but he's not going to get away with it.'

Fellow pundit Jamie Redknapp, meanwhile, disagreed with Neville and suggested that the sending off was harsh.

He said: 'He slips as he comes in to try to win the challenge. It's petty, it was a bit petulant. He sticks out his right leg. When you actually see it in slow motion, his feet go under him and he just sticks out his leg, I think it's a yellow card.'

Tottenham have condemned the 'abhorrent homophobic chanting' from sections of the away support during Sunday's 3-0 win at Manchester United.

Spurs issued a statement on Sunday evening vowing to take 'the strongest possible action' over the offensive chants, which the PA news agency understands were allegedly aimed at United's former Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.

'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.

'Supporters in attendance today can report anything they've seen or heard in confidence to supporterservices@tottenhamhotspur.com.

'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.'

Proud Lilywhites, Spurs' LGBTQI+ Supporters' Association, reposted the club's statement on X along with the message: 'Loved what happened on the pitch at Old Trafford; didn't love the homophobic chanting off the pitch.

'We're all Spurs fans just like you. When you sing these songs you're telling us we don't belong; and we do - as much as you do.'

Goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke secured a convincing away win, with United captain Bruno Fernandes shown a straight red card just before half-time for a challenge on James Maddison.

Tottenham Hotspur won 3-0 at Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday thanks to goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke.

Two of those goals came after United captain Bruno Fernandes had been sent off in the 42nd minute for a foul on James Maddison.

However, the away side had been superior even when it was XI vs XI.

Sunday's result saw Spurs rise up to eighth in the table, while United ended the weekend 12th.

CHRIS WHEELER took his notebook to Old Trafford and he jotted down four observations for Mail Sport.

Proud day for Johnson Snr

It was a proud day for Brennan Johnson's dad David, a former Youth Cup winner at United, who saw his son score at the Stretford End to put Tottenham on course for a comfortable victory.

Johnson Snr didn't make a first-team appearance for the club although he was on the bench for a Champions League tie against Galatasaray 20 years ago in 2004. He went on to play for Ipswich, Nottingham Forest, both Sheffield clubs and Burnley.

The Sky Sports cameras picked him out in the crowd at Old Trafford when Brennan put Spurs ahead in the third minute. The Wales international almost scored another when he hit the post and then had a hand in Dejan Kulusevski's second goal.

One for the family album

Nice touch from Alejandro Garnacho who walked out holding his young son Enzo ahead of his first birthday on Friday, before handing the tot to his partner Eva Garcia on the touchline.

It was one for the family album, even though there was little else Garnacho will want to remember about this game.

At least United fans can cheer for Keely

Britain's 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson realised her dream of parading a gold medal on the pitch at Old Trafford before kick-off.

Atherton-born Hodgkinson, who got a warm reception from the fans and a light shower from the sprinkler system, said before the Paris Games this summer: 'I live across the road, as well, so I look at this stadium pretty much every morning when I wake up.'

Maddison sharp in front of Carsley

Interim England manager Lee Carsley was in the directors' box as he prepares to name his squad for the Nations League fixtures against Greece and Finland next month.

James Maddison did his hopes of a call-up no harm at all, but those in red didn't fare so well.

Marcus Rashford was taken off and Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount were forced off with injuries.

Manchester United were briefly reduced to nine men during their 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur thanks to a substitution mishap which summed up a humiliating afternoon at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils crumbled to a miserable loss which piled further pressure on manager Erik Ten Hag as goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke handed Spurs a fourth consecutive win in all competitions.

With the away side on top just before half-time, Bruno Fernandes was sent off for a tackle on James Maddison which gave United a mountain to climb to get back into the contest.

To make matters worse, England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo hobbled off injured just moments later as the wheels began to fall off for Ten Hag's outfit.

At one point United were reduced to nine men after they appeared to miscue the substitution protocol, leaving replacement Mason Mount stranded on the sidelines.

The play had restarted before the former Chelsea man had a chance to get onto the pitch with the home fans booing in frustration at the farcical mishap.

When the ball finally went dead, Mount entered the fray but the midfielder was later replaced himself after an injury left blood pouring from his head.

The chaotic first-half incident also saw Mainoo appear to complain to substitutes Antony and Casemiro about something with the two men in bibs looking on in bemusement.

The breakthrough in Sunday's clash, which continued a trend of early goals in matches between the two, had come from an unlikely source in the away side's back line.

Picking up the ball inside his own half, Micky van de Ven channelled the spirit of Franz Beckenbauer as he glided unchallenged down the left channel before beating three men as he arrived in the opposition box.

He then fizzed a delivery low across the home side's goal, which was met by a gleeful Johnson who tapped home. The finish continued the former Nottingham Forest man's rich vein of form and gave him a fourth goal in four matches.

He then nearly doubled his tally for the day after being found in bags of space by Kulusevski inside the United box, but the right winger's low strike crashed into the left-hand post.

Alejandro Garnacho then also struck the woodwork but it was all Spurs and the home side ressembled a group of ungelled individuals, as they so often have over the last few seasons and Fernandes's red card summed this up.

But they need not have worried. Just over a minute into the second period, the away side repeated their speedy trick with Kulusevski scoring his first of the season.

Johnson turned provider as he bounded into the United box exploiting the bags of space which had become symptomatic of the home team's chaotic defensive shape.

He found Kulusevski in the area who poked it past Onana at full stretch before wheeling off in manic celebration.

An impressive double save from Onana saw Werner pass the ball straight at the keeper before the Cameroonian pounced to grab it from the feet of Solanke.

But these near-misses served to embolden United who creeped back into the game, backed by defiant fans who had braved the chilly and wet September weather.

Lisandro Martinez was at the centre of the action with the defender shooting wide and having a strike blocked as the Red Devils looked for an unlikely goal to halve the deficit.

Substitute Casemiro then almost silenced the critics of the last few weeks as he laced it past the post on the half volley with Spurs now creaking.

Any vague hopes of a miraculous comeback to save Ten Hag's skin were demolished with 13 minutes left on the clock as new signing Solanke bagged a decisive third.

Pape Sarr flicked on the ball from a corner and it fell into the path of the Englishman who poked home from just four yards out - his third goal against United in three matches.

Ten Hag remained motionless on the touchline as thousands of exasperated Red Devils supporters headed for the exits around him. Another day closer to a long-drawn out departure from the United hotseat.

Bruno Fernandes has revealed that James Maddison told him he did not deserve the red card he received in his side's humiliating 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

The Manchester United captain was sent off for a tackle which scraped the shin of the Spurs midfielder just before half-time.

With the away side already on top at 1-0, Fernandes's first red card for the club all but settled the result this afternoon with Ange Postecoglou's outfit later adding two second-half goals.

Finishes from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke built on Brennan Johnson's third-minute opener and gave Tottenham their fourth consecutive win in all competitions.

In what proved the key incident of the encounter, Fernandes lashed out at Maddison and could be seen chatting with his opponent shortly after. Following the match, the United man revealed what was discussed.

He said: 'I let my team-mates down. I do appreciate everything they do on the pitch. We didn't start the game well. We get the situation with the red card. They did very well. It was difficult to cover all the spaces. I'm proud of the team.

'No one likes to be sent off. It's not a good feeling. We end up conceding another two goals.

'I don't go in with the studs, it's a clear foul but never a red card. Maddison said it is a foul but it's not a red card. If this is a red card we have to look at other incidents. I think it's never a red card. It's a foul if he wants to give a yellow. I don't understand why VAR doesn't call the referee to the screen.

'We find a lot of spaces but we could never connect. It wasn't always like one touch more. We gave the ball away too many times for them to counter.'

On Sky Sports, former Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp said: 'They had a couple of chances but they didn't really stir the crowd into life.

'It's tough down to ten men. You can't just switch it on and off. I don't think they were good enough in any capacity.'

Both sides came into the Sunday afternoon clash with the same set of mediocre records - a couple of wins, a couple of draws, and a couple of defeats - and with an urgent need to kickstart their campaign.

Each outfit boasts an array of pacey, attacking talent notwithstanding Heung-Min Son's late withdrawal from the Spurs starting eleven with a suspected hamstring issue.

But the breakthrough, which continued a trend of early goals in matches between the two, came from an unlikely source in the away side's back line.

With statistics often suggesting van de Ven is the league's fastest man, the enterprising centre-back's surging run in the third minute should not have shocked United - yet their defence was statuesque as the Dutchman set up the opener.

Picking up the ball inside his own half, the 23-year-old channelled the spirit of Franz Beckenbauer as he glided unchallenged down the left channel before beating three men as he arrived in the opposition box.

He then fizzed a delivery low across the home side's goal, which was met by a gleeful Johnson who tapped home.

The finish continued the former Nottingham Forest man's rich vein of form and gave him a fourth goal in four matches.

A shocked Old Trafford descended into a hushed murmur - the near silence only broken by the odd, equally muted, flurry of boos as the Red Devils comitted a series of unforced errors, passing the ball out of play and losing challenges.

Johnson then nearly doubled his tally for the day after being found in bags of space by Kulusevski inside the United box, but the right winger's low strike crashed into the left-hand post.

Spurs were almost made to pay for the wastefulness just seconds later as a jinky Kobbie Mainoo run ended with a clever ball to Joshua Zirkzee whose shot from 12 yards out was straight at Guglielmo Vicario.

But the visitors remained on top creating a string of chances. An acrobatic attempt from Cristian Romero had United hearts in mouths before Timo Werner, released into space in the penalty area, struck a weak finish at a grateful Onana.

Alejandro Garnacho hit the post but it was all Spurs and the home side ressembled a group of ungelled individuals as they so often have over the last few seasons.

United's frustration soon boiled over. Captain Fernandes petulantly flicking out a leg to catch James Maddison just below the knee to receive his first red card in a four-year spell at Old Trafford.

United's woes worsened as Mainoo went off injured, with the side briefly reduced to nine men as Mason Mount waited excruciatingly to come on.

Ten Hag's side were now just desperate for half-time to arrive and when it did Spurs walked off the pitch with mixed emotions - a spring in their step after a free-flowing team performance but a sense of ruefulness after a host of missed opportunities.

But they need not have worried. Just over a minute into the second period, the away side repeated their speedy trick with Kulusevski scoring his first of the season.

Johnson turned provider as he bounded into the United box exploiting the bags of space which had become symptomatic of the home team's chaotic defensive shape.

He found Kulusevski in the area who poked it past Onana at full stretch before wheeling off in manic celebration.

The atmosphere at Old Trafford threatened to turn toxic and Spurs wasted more chances to take the game well out of sight as the away fans chanted 'you're getting sacked in the morning' in the direction of Ten Hag.

An impressive double save from Onana saw Werner pass the ball straight at the keeper before the Cameroonian pounced to grab it from the feet of Solanke.

But these near-misses served to embolden United who creeped back into the game, backed by defiant fans who had braved the chilly and wet September weather.

Lisandro Martinez was at the centre of the action with the defender shooting wide and having a strike blocked as the Red Devils looked for an unlikely goal to halve the deficit.

Substitute Casemiro then almost silenced the critics of the last few weeks as he laced it past the post on the half volley with Spurs now creaking.

Any vague hopes of a miraculous comeback to save Ten Hag's skin were demolished with 13 minutes left on the clock as new signing Solanke bagged a decisive third.

Pape Sarr flicked on the ball from a corner and it fell into the path of the Englishman who poked home from just four yards out - his third goal against United in three matches.

Ten Hag remained motionless on the touchline as thousands of exasperated Red Devils supporters headed for the exits around him. Another day closer to a long-drawn out departure from the United hotseat.

Jamie Redknapp reckons Manchester United are 'going backwards' after watching them lose 3-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Spurs completely bossed the game at Old Trafford and should have been more than 1-0 in front when United captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off for a foul on James Maddison in the 42nd minute.

Brennan Johnson had fired Spurs ahead in the third minute following a stunning assist by Micky van de Ven.

Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke then added goals against United's 10 men in the second half but Spurs also missed multiple big chances to score more.

Sunday's result left United with just seven points from their first six games in the Premier League this season.

In his post-game analysis for Sky Sports, former Spurs and Liverpool captain Redknapp tore into Erik ten Hag's United side.

'It gets to a point where you feel almost sorry for the manager, he looks out of his depth,' Redknapp said.

'It was so easy for Tottenham. It feels to me now, £616 million spent, United are going backwards. They are rock bottom right now.

'It's embarrassing. A club of this stature shouldn't be producing performances like that. They don't want it enough.'