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Man United suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat at home by Tottenham on Sunday

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Manchester United's miserable 3-0 defeat at home by Tottenham Hotspur left fans asking tough questions about individual performances. With several players failing to meet expectations, the match exposed weaknesses all over the pitch.

Who were the main culprits in United's collapse, and how did Spurs capitalise so effectively? Some new signings, expected to make an impact, struggled to adapt to the pace and physicality of the Premier League.

One of United's newest additions had a debut to forget. A £50million signing was unable to cope with Spurs' fast tempo, repeatedly caught out of position and overrun in midfield.

Adding to United's misery, captain Bruno Fernandes received a straight red card before half-time after catching James Maddison with a high challenge. Tottenham, meanwhile, were clinical - with one player in particular leading the charge for Ange Postecoglou's men.

Mail Sport's CHRIS WHEELER was in attendance at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon to reveal how each team got on.

Manchester United (4-2-3-1)

Andre Onana - 7

No chance with the goals but kept United in the game with one-on-one saves from Maddison, Werner twice and Solanke.

Noussair Mazraoui - 4

Struggled against the pace of Werner and Udogie, particularly after he was booked for foul on the latter before half-time.

Matthijs De Ligt - 4.5

Looked shaky but a bit unlucky that the deflection from his challenge on Johnson led to Kulusevski scoring the second.

Lisandro Martinez - 4

Well below par. His slip allowed Spurs to break for the second goal, and booked for a wild challenge on Maddison.

Diogo Dalot - 4

Struggled at left back again and spent more than half the game on a yellow after hauling down Kulusevski.

Manuel Ugarte - 4

First league start and United's new £50m midfielder struggled to adapt to the pace of the game. Caught out time and again.

Kobbie Mainoo - 5

Created a couple of openings in the early stages but limped off injured as Fernandes was being sent off.

Marcus Rashford - 5

His pace was a threat to Spurs' high line but he couldn't make it count with a killer finish or pass.

Bruno Fernandes - 3

Straight red card before half-time seemed harsh but he was nowhere near the ball and caught Maddison under the knee.

Alejandro Garnacho - 5.5

Plenty of effort but lacked an end product. Rattled the post with a fierce effort in the first half.

Joshua Zirkzee - 4

Desperate for a goal but snatched at his best chance in the 22nd minute and was replaced at half-time.

Substitutes

Mason Mount (for Mainoo 45, 5)

Casemiro (for Zirkzee 46, 5.5)

Rasmus Hojlund (for Rashford 72, 5)

Christian Eriksen (Ugarte 72, 5)

Amad Diallo (for Mount 85)

Tottenham (4-1-4-1)

Guglielmo Vicario - 6.5

Would have expected to be tested far more but a routine save from Zirkzee summed up his afternoon's work.

Pedro Porro - 6.5

Had his hands full with Rashford in the first half and Garnacho in the second, but coped well on the whole.

Cristian Romero - 6

Almost scored with a flying volley in the first half, but lucky that a handball in the box was deemed accidental.

Micky van de Ven - 7

Incredible assist for the first goal, winning the ball deep inside own half and then charging clear to set up Johnson.

Destiny Udogie - 6.5

Fired early chance over but was struggling with a knock for much of the first half and replaced at the interval.

Rodrigo Bentancur - 6

Solid display in the middle helped Spurs to control the game and snuff out what little threat United could offer.

Brennan Johnson - 8

A constant threat. Converted the early goal, hit the post with another effort and got forward again to set up the second.

Dejan Kulusevski - 7.5

Showed some lovely touches to create chances for Maddison and Johnson, then claimed the second goal with clever finish.

James Maddison - 7

Missed early chance but full of energy and ideas. Drew a red card from Fernandes and a yellow from Martinez.

Timo Werner - 5

Needs to be more clinical in front of goal. Two more one-on-one chances here but he couldn't convert.

Dominic Solanke - 6.5

He's been a thorn in United's side before and did it again by prodding home the third goal from close range.

Substitutes

Djed Spence (for Udogie 46, 6),

Mikey Moore (for Johnson 76, 6)

Lucas Bergvall (for Lerner 77, 6),

Pape Matar Sarr (for Maddison 77, 6)

Radu Dragusin (for Van de Ven 81)

Referee

Chris Kavanagh - 6.5

A dread of ordinariness, and an even greater dread of losing to ordinariness, had clung grimly to the build-up to this game all week.

For a fallen giant such as Manchester United, a club at a stage in its history when it is caught between hope and fear, there is always escape in losing to a side like Liverpool, as United did heavily on the first day of this month.

But United versus Tottenham is not a match that sells alibis. Not for anyone. Not for the beleaguered Dutchman or for the new Ineos minority ownership group, led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, that decided, incomprehensibly, to keep him in post this season.

Lose to Spurs, who were only one defeat from a kind of crisis themselves, and Erik ten Hag knew that the emptiness at the core of this United team that he has built would be laid bare. The 3-0 defeat that his side suffered at Old Trafford left no doubt about that emptiness.

The truth is that Ten Hag is out of excuses. His time is up. There is no hiding place for him any more. His boasts about winning minor trophies are worthless when his team plays like this.

Let's be honest about what United stand for as we enter the autumn of the year: no philosophy, no identity, no discipline, no guile, no pattern, no determination, no adventure, no belief, no subtlety, no desire, no intent, no plan. Apart from that, everything's fine.

United's attitude stinks. Entitlement runs through them and Ten Hag simply cannot eradicate it, however big he talks and however tough he acts.

United are a team going backwards and they weren't starting from an advanced position in the first place. Insults are easy to throw but both Ten Hag and his United team were an embarrassment against Tottenham.

Don't be fooled by any suggestions that United lost this because they were reduced to ten men before half time when their captain Bruno Fernandes was shown a straight red. Ten Hag's side were well beaten by then. Spurs were running rings around them.

There have been some dire performances since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in the summer of 2013 but there are very few that were worse than this. Spurs are far from title contenders and yet they outclassed United in every single department.

That includes the coaching, by the way. In fact, it means the coaching most of all. Ange Postecoglou has his critics but he has built a creative, attacking, technically adept side in north London that is brilliant to watch.

As poor as United were, there was so much to admire about Spurs. James Maddison was at the heart of everything creative Spurs did. United could not get close to Dejan Kulusevski, Brennan Johnson was superb on the right flank. Micky van de Ven was majestic at the back.

Here's the other sobering thing: Spurs were playing without the injured Son Heung-min. If he had been in the starting line-up, this would have been an even greater humiliation for Ten Hag and the rabble he has assembled here.

Manuel Ugarte made his full debut after his move from PSG. He did not have a good afternoon. He looks, in fact, like yet another dud that one of Europe's elite clubs has gratefully unloaded on the gullible paymasters at Old Trafford.

It is hard even to say United tried. Ten Hag and Christian Eriksen admitted United didn't want it enough in their insipid draw with Twente in the Europa League in midweek and this was even worse. United's players look like complacent prima donnas with no steel in their hearts.

The teams had started the match with an identical record, becalmed in mid-table, but after this result it seems clear one of them is heading in the right direction and the other is on the road to hell.

United started sloppily. Fernandes turned into trouble on the edge of his own area, Lisandro Martinez gave the ball away cheaply as United were hurried out of their stride when they tried to play their way out of defence.

Ten Hag's team looked loose and when Marcus Rashford overran the ball inside the first three minutes, Micky van de Ven dispossessed him easily deep inside the Spurs half. Van de Ven is one of the fastest players in the Premier League but when he set off on a forward run, United seemed utterly unprepared for what was coming next.

Van de Ven exposed an old United failing under Ten Hag of being vulnerable to teams counter-attacking them and Van de Ven sliced through them as he sprinted forward. Ugarte, Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt trailed in his wake and when Van de Ven got to the goal line, he crossed it for Brennan Johnson who tapped in for his third goal in four games.

Spurs might have gone further ahead soon afterwards when Maddison played a one-two with Dejan Kulusevski and ran in on goal. Maddison tried to lift the ball over Onana but Onana blocked the ball with his body and it looped away to safety.

When De Ligt dived in on the touchline midway through the half and missed his tackle, Spurs sensed another opportunity. Destiny Udogie fed the ball inside to Kulusevski who helped it on to Johnson. His fierce cross shot beat Onana but cannoned off the face of the post.

United finally fashioned their first chance of the half when Kobbie Mainoo crossed for Joshua Zirkzee. Zirkzee stretched to reach it and diverted it goalwards but it did not quite have enough power or direction to beat Guglielmo Vicario.

'They may as well be statues,' Gary Neville said of United's players on Sky Sports and he was right. United were desperately poor. They were second to everything. They looked semi-detached and semi-interested. They played without guile, without vision and, apparently, without any kind of plan.

Even if he was misfiring, Rashford did at least keep demanding the ball and having the courage to take on his man. It was from his cross eight minutes before half time that Alejandro Garnacho smashed a fierce volley against the post.

A minute after that, though, Spurs missed another golden opportunity to take the lead. Spurs caught United hopelessly open, again, on the counter and Timo Werner ran clean through on goal.

United were lucky the chance fell to the Germany forward who is not known for his clinical finishing. He clipped his shot straight at Onana, who saved it comfortably.

United sought new misfortunes. And found them. A few minutes before half time, Maddison eased past Fernandes, who slipped as he prepared to challenge him. Fernandes raised his studs as he fell, partly as a reaction to losing his balance but partly as an attempt to stop Maddison.

He raked his studs down Maddison's shin and referee Chris Kavanagh showed him a straight red card. It felt harsh but it also felt as if Fernandes brought the decision on himself. He gave Kavanagh a decision to make.

Ten Hag reacted by sending on Mason Mount for Mainoo. Mount had only been on the pitch for a couple of minutes when he scythed needlessly through the back of Maddison and was shown a yellow card.

Ten Hag made another change at half time. He had to. He brought on Casemiro for Zirkzee and switched Rashford to playing down the middle. It didn't make any difference. Two minutes after the break, Spurs doubled their lead.

United looked bland and uncertain in a battle for a second ball near the half way line and Spurs won it. Johnson dashed down the right, unchallenged, and when his cross was deflected, it looped into the path of Kulusevski, who leapt high and flicked the ball past Onana as if he were karate-kicking it.

Spurs should have gone 3-0 up when Kulusevski shrugged off a weak challenge from Ugarte and threaded a ball through to Werner. Faced with only Onana to beat, Werner, once again, was found wanting. Onana saved comfortably. If Son Heung-min had been fit, it would have been a rout.

Martinez, who had had a poor game, did at least show some stomach for the fight. He lofted a clever ball over the top of the Spurs defence for Casemiro and the Brazil midfielder's half volley rolled just wide of Vicario's right-hand post.

But there was no way back for United and 13 minutes from the end, Dominic Solanke, who had had a fine match, put them out of their misery, sticking out a foot to divert a header from Pape Sarr past Onana.

Financier Amanda Staveley is 'set to make a sizeable investment in Tottenham Hotspur using Middle Eastern money' just three months after she departed rivals Newcastle United.

The 51-year-old helped push through Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund's £305million takeover of Newcastle in October 2021, with the help of husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi.

The pair handled the day-to-day running of the Premier League club during that time with Staveley maintaining a ten per cent stake.

She left Newcastle in July this year after overseeing a resurgence in the side's fortunes which featured stars such as Bruno Guimaraes arriving at St James's Park. The financier later admitted she was 'devastated' following her exit.

Now Staveley has paved a way back into the Premier League, the Mirror reports, as she lines up a stake in Spurs just days after being spotted in the stands for their 3-1 home win over Brentford.

The north London side are in the hunt for new money as one-time majority stakeholder Joe Lewis's influence at the club declines.

Staveley and Ghodoussi are expected to buy up some of Lewis's shares which are now held in a family trust.

A source close to the deal said: 'Amanda is serious about being involved with Spurs, and is hoping that an initial purchase can be completed within weeks.'

The financier is using Middle East money once more after overseeing the PIF's takeover on Tyneside.

Staveley has been cagey about a return to football and told The Athletic: 'My preference would have been to stay with Newcastle, but life doesn't always work out exactly how you want it to. Nothing is going to replicate that.

'I fell in love with Newcastle, the club and the people and that can't change, but I didn't want to get in Newcastle's way. It's got to be about what's best for Newcastle.

'Mehrdad and I are keen to be hands-on. We're hard-working people, I love to be very busy and to engage and I love football. Very sadly, we have to move on to other projects and that might involve us taking a stake in another club or buying another club and that's difficult. But it's possible.'

Staveley's appearance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last week, as a guest of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, accelerated rumours that she was setting up a 'fresh' consortium of investors and 'hoped to take an initial stake in Spurs'.

Forbes state that Spurs are currently valued at around £2.42billion ($3.2bn). Should Staveley wish to purchase a 25 per cent stake in the club it would cost approximately £605m. The 51-year-old has reportedly already raised £500m through her investment fund PCP Capital Partners.

The outlet adds that the investors will subsequently look to increase their stake in the north London outfit.

Tottenham were purchased by ENIC Group (English National Investment Company), in 2001, with Joe Lewis's family trust becoming the club's new majority owners.

Harry Maguire was ruled unfit to play for Man United against Spurs on Sunday

The defender had featured in seven of United's first eight games this season

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Harry Maguire has been left out of Manchester United's squad to face Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

The 31-year-old defender had featured in seven of United's first eight games of the season in all competitions.

However, Maguire suffered a knock in training and was therefore unavailable to manager Erik ten Hag on Sunday.

Maguire still arrived at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon despite not being fit to play.

Ten Hag selected Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez as his starting centre backs, while Victor Lindelof was on the bench for the first time this season.

Spurs came to Old Trafford without a significant injury absentee of their own after captain Son Heung-min picked up a suspected hamstring issue during Thursday's 3-0 win over Qarabag in the Europa League.

Son was replaced in Tottenham's starting XI by Timo Werner, who was part of a three-man attack with Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou also named an attack-minded midfield three of Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur and James Maddison.

Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte started at the base of the United midfield.

United and Spurs both went into Sunday's game with seven points from their first five Premier League fixtures.

Tottenham captain Son Heung-min will to miss today’s Premier League clash against Manchester United through injury.

The Korean was substituted in the 3-0 Europa League victory over Qarabag on Thursday night with a suspected hamstring issue.

Spur head coach Ange Postecoglou said that his star forward was hoping to training on Saturday which would have boosted his chances of playing against Erik ten Hag’s team.

‘Sonny, I don’t think is too bad,’ the Australian boss said.

‘He wants to train tomorrow (Saturday) and we will see how it goes and make a decision from there. We have another day up our sleeve to give him every chance.’

But Mail Sport has learned the forward will miss the visit to Old Trafford in news that will arrive as a blow to Postecoglou’s hopes this afternoon.

Following a difficult start to the season that saw them win just once from their opening four games, Tottenham are on a run of three successive victories as head into today’s clash against United.

But Son’s absence arrives as a blow to the Tottenham’s hopes against United later.

Dominic Solanke, who has scored two in two, Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski will be hopeful of playing in attack in Son’s absence.

Dimitar Berbatov joined Man United from Tottenham on September 1, 2008

Spurs also accepted an offer from Man City just hours before he joined United

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Dimitar Berbatov has recalled how Manchester City tried to hijack his summer deadline day transfer from Tottenham Hotspur to Manchester United in 2008.

The Bulgarian striker eventually moved to Old Trafford in a deal worth £30.75 million, with Fraizer Campbell going the other way on a season-long loan.

But just hours before Berbatov completed his switch to United, Tottenham accepted an offer from City.

Managed by Mark Hughes, City had just finished ninth in the 2007-08 edition of the Premier League - two places above Spurs, but 32 points behind champions United.

Hughes never even got to talk with Berbatov after the player swiftly made his feelings clear to his agent.

'They wanted to sign me on the last day of the market,' Berbatov recently told The Telegraph. 'I told my agent: "F*** off, we're going to United". Because of the history, the prestige, the players, the manager, the shirt. I never had any doubt that Old Trafford was the right decision.'

Berbatov was greeted by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester airport.

He added: 'I was shocked because it can be intimidating and especially for me, stepping out the plane and bam you see Sir Alex!

'I was like, "what do I say, how do I address him, will I look stupid?" I had all these questions in my head, but he was great.

'He took us to Carrington and the drive in the car was like science fiction. I didn't even know what to say. It was a perfect day. Exhausting, but perfect, because I had worked so hard to get there.'

Berbatov spent four seasons playing for Ferguson's United side. During that period, he scored 56 goals in 149 games and lined up alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Carlos Tevez.

He described Ronaldo as a 'great professional', before adding: 'We shared a year together, he was starting to grow by leaps and bounds. He trained like an animal, he tried his best to be the best. It was nice to see that dedication up close. I don't remember him missing a single training session.'

United won the Premier League title twice during Berbatov's four seasons at the club.

Berbatov also experienced glory in the League Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, but not the Champions League, despite United reaching the final in 2009 and 2011.

Dominic Solanke has insisted he feels no pressure to take take up Harry Kane's mantle at Tottenham and revealed the chat he had with the England skipper following his £65million transfer from Bournemouth.

Solanke appears to have found his footing in north London and will arrive at Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Sunday on the back of two goals in as many games.

The 27-year-old is no stranger to the spotlight that comes with playing or a big club, having started his career at Chelsea before completing a switch to Liverpool.

And ahead of Tottenham much-anticipated Premier League clash, he revealed that he's also unfazed by the prospect of replacing Kane - the club's all-time leading scorer, who left for Bayern Munich last year.

'Harry is who he is. I don’t think anyone would want to see him replaced anyway.' He told The Mirror. 'He’s a world-class striker. But I’m here now and I want to score as many goals as I can for Tottenham and hopefully we can win some trophies.'

Tottenham's wait for a trophy will reach its 17 years at the end of the season. It's a drought that has seen the club lose several world class players, including Kane.

The England captain returned to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Bayern during pre-season and Solanke shed light on the private talk he had with the Spurs hero.

'Harry came into the changing room and I spoke to him - we had a few words and he obviously only had good things to say about the club.' Solanke continued.

'It was probably just what you expect. But he spoke so highly about Spurs, how good the players and staff are here.'

All things considered, Spurs have adjusted well to life without Kane.

Last season they finished just two points off the top four in Ange Postecoglou's first year at the club. Solanke, meanwhile, was scoring 21 league goals for the Cherries.

His form prompted Spurs to swoop for a big-money deal, which those connected to the club hope will finally enable them to clinch some silverware.

At the very least, Spurs are desperate to be back in the Champions League and victory over a rival like United will go a long way to achieving that aim.

Solanke added: 'Everyone knows how big of a club United is so it’s going to be a tough game. But we are not scared of anyone so we will go there and be on the front foot and hopefully we can get another result.'

Tottenham's official X account ruffled feathers following their 3-0 over Qarabag

The tweet appeared to be dig at Arsenal's draw with Manchester City on Sunday

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Tottenham's social media team have infuriated Arsenal fans with a post on X, formerly Twitter, following their 3-0 win over Qarabag.

In a game delayed by travel chaos, Ange Postecoglou's side were reduced to ten men when Radu Dragusin was shown a straight red card on seven minutes.

Rather than adopt a more conservative approach in the wake of the sending off the hosts went on to the front foot against their Azerbaijani opponents.

Brennan Johnson continued his recent resurgence with a fine strike to give them the lead just minutes after Dragusin's red.

Spurs continued to press their advantage after the interval and goals from Pape Matar Sarr and Dominic Solanke ensured the victory.

Following the game, the club's official social media account shared stats from the match with the caption: '10 men and we never stopped playing our football.'

The post appeared to be a reference to north London rivals Arsenal, who adopted an extremely defensive approach after Leandro Trossard saw red against Manchester City on Sunday.

The Gunners had gone in front just minutes before the Belgian's dismissal but their lead would ultimately come undone after John Stones equalised in the dying moments of the game.

The apparent dig clearly did not go unnoticed by Arsenal fans, who were quick to retort in the comments.

One wrote: '4 big chances conceded. Please give them up to Haaland and see what happens.'

Another added: 'One play against the best club in the world at the moment, and one played against Qarabag there’s levels to this game.'

A further fan opined: 'What a shameless thing to tweet on the official account. It’s even worse cos we’ve beaten this f****** 3 consecutive times at their ground.'

A number of Arsenal fans also pointed out their recent record against their bitter rivals, particularly at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs have won just one of the last eight meetings in the north London derby, with the last coming in May 2022 during Antonio Conte's time in charge of the club.

Ange Postecoglou has provided on update on Son Heung-min's fitness after he was forced off in Tottenham's 3-0 dismantling of Qarabag in the Europa League.

The Spurs skipper came off with 20 minutes to go for Timo Werner having had medical attention, moments after his shot was parried into Dominic Solanke's path for the side's third goal.

Tottenham face Manchester United on Sunday and with Richarlison and Wilson Odobert already out, Postecoglou does not need another body on the treatment table.

Spurs were fine against Qarabag, with Brennan Johnson and Pape Matar Sarr also getting in on the scoring, but tension is building after a middling start in the league.

On Son, Postecoglou said: 'I haven't spoken to him.

'He said he felt a bit tired but I haven't spoken to him or medicals yet.'

Tottenham were left with 10 men after seven minutes when Radu Dragusin received a straight red card on his first European start.

Dragusin let a simple pass from one of his team-mates drift past him near the halfway line, allowing Qarabag striker Juninho to steal possession and have a clear run on goal.

Unable to catch the Brazilian, Dragusin instead decided to pull him down to the ground that prompted an immediate red card from the referee. It was, as fans wrote on X, 'diabolical defending'.

Gridlock in London meant the match got underway 38 minutes late as the Azeri visitors got caught up in traffic.

Rail and road closures for a variety of reasons combined to cause chaos for the visiting team and thousands of fans who had to find alternative routes through relentless rain to reach N17.

The TNT Sports team, including pundits Peter Crouch and Glenn Hoddle, were also caught out and had to abandon their vehicle and set out into the rain on foot.

'Imagine being caught in traffic for more than two and a half hours. I cannot just make excuses for this; it shouldn't have happened and there were no police to escort us,' said Qarabag boss Gurban Gurbanov.

'It had a big impact on our footballers, but it doesn't take away from our opponent. They are a good team and we don't turn a blind eye to that.

'As soon as we arrived, we were told to start in 40 minutes and we were not as ready or prepared as we should have been. These things shouldn't happen.'

Once the match was underway home fans were treated to enough entertainment, though the hosts only had 10 shots to Qarabag's 14.

Johnson opened the scoring after 12 minutes - his third goal in as many games - while Sarr doubled their lead shortly after half-time.

Qarabag had a golden opportunity to halve the deficit on 58 minutes but Tural Bayramov skied a spot-kick and Solanke punished them 10 minutes later when he capitalised on a poor save from Mateusz Kochalski to poke home.

'It was just not a great start for us,' Postecoglou said. 'We were really passive with our passing. Whether it was the delay to the game or whatever, but it's no excuse.

'So having a 35-minute delay, delays warm-ups, delays all sorts of things but you've just got to deal with it and we've got to deal with it better than what we did tonight.

'We kind of shot ourselves in the foot and unfortunately Radu [Dragusin] paid the ultimate price for it. But as a team, we just didn't start the game in the way we wanted to and the way we needed to and made the game challenging for us.

'The response was great, absolutely, but disappointed we had to be in that position.'