It was another fine night of football heritage from Jose Mourinho, who’s seen his Manchester United side lose 3-0 at home to Tottenham. They go to Burnley next for a relegation six-pointer, while high-flying Tottenham meet Watford in a clash between two title contenders. Thanks for reading, emailing and tweeting. Bye!
Jose Mourinho has walked out of his press conference in a huff. This is spectacular!
After Mourinho arguing about meaning of result and supporters walking/staying, @JamieJackson___ just puts it to to him "you lost 3-0, though".
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) August 27, 2018
Mourinho: "And I won three PL titles, more than any of the other 19 managers. Respect, please." Walks out asking for more respect.
On Sky, Jamie Carragher is pointing out that Jose Mourinho was putting on a show at the end. It was, of course, totally transparent from Manchester United’s manager. Gary Neville, meanwhile, is jumping through hoops to defend Mourinho. As usual.
Jose Trump.
All our fans don’t read papers. All our fans don’t watch television. All our fans are more intelligent than that.”
It’s Manchester United’s worst league start since 1992, when they had one point from three games, and Jose Mourinho’s worst ever home defeat. Here’s Daniel Taylor’s match report.
Jose Mourinho speaks.
You know, don’t you? We worked very well during the weke. We prepared very well. We played very well. At half time the result should be 2-0, 3-1, 3-0. Then something changed the game a little bit. Then the result was 2-0 but the team was in the game. I think everyone could feel one goal could change the game. I think Tottenham felt it. We were feeling that too. But then the third goal killed the game. We worked all week and by the strategic point of view we didn’t lose. By the tactical point of view we didn’t lose. But we lost the first.
All our fans don’t read papers. All our fans don’t watch television. All our fans are more intelligent than that. I don’t think it’s normal a team lose a game at home and the supporters react the way they did. Until the result was open, the team played to change the result. The team was creating enough for that. With one goal, I am saying we were very much in the game. The 3-0 smashed the mentality of the team. But even then I saw Luke Shaw with cramps but playing with dignity and pride. Goals are an amazing vitamin and goals conceded lead to an overdose of fatigue. When you arrive at half-time with the frustration of why are we not winning and then you concede two goals, that is an overdose of fatigue.
“I don’t know what Phil Jones has. But we have Smalling, Lindelof and Bailly. The market is closed. There is no market until 1 January. What I had to say I told. I don’t say one more word about that. I just think if anyone that watched this game, and many thousands of our fans looked at this game, the team is united. The teams didn’t fight the way they fought if the team is not united. I think people don’t believe what they read. The team is united. There is no union without the manager.”
The European transfer window shuts on Friday. I wonder if Barcelona will be putting in a call about Paul Pogba.
Harry Kane continues. “Lucas has been great. He’s so fast and great at pressing. That’s a huge part of our game. When you get him one v one, like we did for the third goal, he’s a danger. So far this season he’s been brilliant. We’re trying to create our own history at Spurs. We’ve not been up at the top of the league year after year, so the only way to do that is to prove everyone. We’ve done well in the past couple of years but we haven’t quite got there. People will talk about Liverpool and those sort of teams. They’ve spent a lot of money. For us it’s about building with a great manager.”
Harry Kane speaks! “That’s massive. To come here and win the way we did is a big statement. It’s been a fantastic start. It’s massive. We didn’t play great in the first half and we said we had to step up the tempo. The first goal is so important. We got it and then we punished. Lucas is a fantastic player. The top six are so strong now and you have to stay up there. The only way to do that is come here and get the three points.”
Pochettino: Doesn’t have a cent to spend in off-season despite only spending £50m net in his tenure. Doesn’t complain, talks up youngsters & returning players.
— Daniel Garb (@DanielGarb) August 27, 2018
Mourinho: spent £300m+ net at Utd. Spends all pre-season whinging about his squad, fighting everyone.
Class prevails.
Much of the focus will be on Manchester United, who should sack Jose Mourinho tomorrow, but let’s not forget that this is a famous night for Tottenham. While United have three points from their first three matches, Tottenham go level with Liverpool, Chelsea and Watford on nine points. Not bad for a side with no summer signings. I actually didn’t think they were that hot tonight - they were sluggish in the first half and fortunate not to concede first - but they were in control after Harry Kane’s goal and Lucas Moura’s excellent brace made sure of Mauricio Pochettino’s first win at Old Trafford.
Post-match emails
“Please put us out of our misery and sack Mourinho in the morning,” Gary Murray says.
“I thought Lindelöf played really well at the World Cup,” Kari Tulinius says. “No defender has looked good this season at Manchester United, with the possible exception of Luke Shaw. I don’t think it’s Lindelöf who’s the problem.”
“As a United fan I still have to stand by Mourinho in a way I fear Woodward won’t,” Matt Richman says. “He brought the team two trophies and finally some attacking play (whatever his critics may say, his teams do attack, though that criticism is definitely justified in big games). The second-placed finish - though well off the pace of the champions - never looked in doubt, which is some accomplishment in this highly competitive league. Third-season syndrome be damned, the man has earned some backing.”
“Not for the first time, Jose’s cunning plan to engineer a new contract then wangle himself the sack and a fat payout looks like it’s turning out well,” David Jenn says.
Jose Mourinho stands in front of the Stretford End, applauding the remaining United fans. Someone throws a red shirt on the pitch and the manager picks it up. I’m welling up here. Jose’s just so goddamn brave. None of this is down to him! Don’t look at Jose! It isn’t his fault!
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Full-time: Abject Shower 0-3 Tottenham
Jose Mourinho walks on to the pitch and commiserates Luke Shaw. The camera picks out Ed Woodward, who looks shellshocked. Tottenham’s fans, meanwhile, are in heaven.
90 min+4: Spurs deal with one last United free-kick.
90 min+3: “Farewell Mourinho,” Tom Murphy says. “We shan’t miss you.”
90 min+1: There will be five added minutes. “I wonder what Mourinho feelings are about the fool who bought Lindelof?” says Geoff Wignall. “Here in Portugal the fee was thought hilarious.”
90 min: Lads, it’s United.
89 min: Let’s face it, United should be announcing Mourinho’s departure first thing tomorrow morning. Why persist with this? He’s done. Meanwhile Spurs are making their final change, swapping one Harry for the other, Winks on for Kane.
88 min: Lingard doesn’t trouble Lloris with a low shot from 25 yards.
87 min: Old Trafford has emptied out, although some United fans are doing some defiant chanting.
Fred misjudges a header near the halfway line, allowing the ball to reach Kane. The striker holds off a challenge before finding Moura, who has room to run at Smalling. And he accepts the invitation. It would be rude not to, after all. Moura speeds past Smalling, beating the United centre-back with ease, and then he lashes a venomous drive past De Gea, who must be wondering what he’s done to deserve all this. United are a total mess!
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GOAL! Manchester United 0-3 Tottenham (Moura, 85 min)
Firstly, oh Jose! Secondly, what a goal!
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82 min: Eriksen shoots over from 25 yards.
@JacobSteinberg For the life of me, explain why oen of the Top 10 (at least) young players in England, Marcus Rashford, is neither first on the team sheet nor first on the substitutes. NBC Sports Network is asking the same questions.
— Hubert O'Hearn (@BTBReviews) August 27, 2018
81 min: Rose has gone down with an injury, which explains why Spurs are bringing on Davies. They were about to bring on Winks for Moura, only to change tack after spotting Rose’s problem.
80 min: Sanchez volleys over from 18 yards. Spurs are getting ready to introduce Harry Winks and Ben Davies.
79 min: Lukaku barrels down the right and pulls a ball inside. Lingard runs on to it, but Dembele deflects his shot over. The corner comes to nothing.
78 min: Shaws sees a bouncing drive drift through the bodies and go wide. United are attacking a lot, but there isn’t much structure to their approach.
77 min: Rose picks up a booking for tugging Pogba’s shirt. “Any chance of an update on the pursedness of Ed Woodward lips?” parps Niall Mullen.
76 min: Serge Aurier replaces Kieran Trippier.
74 min: This is going to sound weird given they’re 2-0 up at Old Trafford, but Tottenham have been some way off their best this evening. What that says about United, I’ll leave up to you.
70 min: It feels like Mourinho would have Robert Huth over Lindelof in defence.
69 min: Sanchez cuts inside from the left and drags a low shot wide of the nar post.
67 min: From the resulting corner, De Gea flaps and Kane heads wide of an open goal at the far post! Will Spurs regret these misses? “There’s that famous John Terry quote about Mourinho preparing his team for every possible game situation, giving them concrete plans,” Kari Tulinius says. “In all three games this season, Manchester United’s players have seemed like they have no idea what they should be doing, collectively. It’s like Mourinho’s already resigned in spirit, but his body keeps showing up for work.”
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66 min: Lindelof commits a horrendous error, turning under no pressure and playing a dismal pass back to De Gea! It’s nowhere near United’s goalkeeper. It is near Alli! He rounds De Gea, but the Spaniard does just enough to put him off. Alli spins and shoots, but De Gea’s back to make the save. United’s fans howl at Lindelof’s brainlessness. On the touchline. Mourinho can’t believe what he’s watching. He just stands there with his arms outstretched, wondering why Lindelof isn’t Jerome Boateng, or Harry Maguire.
65 min: Fred whips the free-kick to the far post and Lindelof heads into the side netting.
64 min: Pogba zigzags past Rose, who chops him down just outside the area on the right. There’s a whiff of panic about Spurs at the moment. One United goal changes the mood completely.
63 min: United are putting Spurs under some aerial pressure now. With Fellaini on the pitch, this could be just like Belgium v Japan at the World Cup!
61 min: Manchester United make their final change, Marouane Fellaini replacing Nemanja Matic. This isn’t over yet. On the left, Sanchez hangs a lovely ball towards Lukaku, who cleverly nods the ball down to Lingard, cutting Spurs in two. Lingard looks certain to score - but the ball doesn’t come down quickly enough and Alderweireld races back to hook the ball over the bar!
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60 min: “You’re getting sacked in the morning!” chant the Spurs fans, who are presumably directing that one at Mourinho rather than Pochettino.
59 min: Here’s some tactical analysis on Tottenham’s second goal from one of the more perceptive pundits around.
Stepping up to play offside with a back 3 and one is a centre mid is asking for trouble. To easy for spurs second
— Danny Higginbotham (@Higginbotham05) August 27, 2018
58 min: Victor Lindelof replaces Phil Jones. Antonio Valencia has been booked for clattering into Alli.
57 min: Victor Lindelof is going to come on for United soon. Phil Jones has a hamstring problem.
55 min: Manchester United make their first change, Alexis Sanchez replacing Ander Herrera.
54 min: Tottenham are rampant! Now Alli surges through the middle and almost bursts clear after combining with Moura, only for Smalling to deny him in the nick of time. The locals are restless.
Kieran Trippier plays another pass down the line to Christian Eriksen, who’s played onside by Ander Herrera in the middle. Eriksen has the presence of mind to pick out the onrushing Lucas Moura, who has the desire to charge on to the ball and skim a drive into the bottom-right corner from 12 yards. That is a lovely goal and Manchester United are in big trouble now.
GOAL! Manchester United 0-2 Tottenham (Moura, 52 min)
This is astonishing!
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51 min: United look for an instant reponse, but Lukaku sees his curving drive pushed away by Lloris after bustling through. Rose manages to hook the loose ball clear.
A corner to Tottenham on the right. Kieran Trippier swings it in and Harry Kane levers Phil Jones aside before guiding a sumptuous header into the top-left corner, leaving De Gea rooted to the spot. It’s the first time Tottenham have scored at Old Trafford under Mauricio Pochettino!
GOAL! Manchester United 0-1 Tottenham (Kane, 50 min)
Harry Kane has his first goal at Old Trafford!
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49 min: Tottenham’s passing has been appalling at times. But this is better. Eriksen escapes down the right and clips the ball back to Alli, who sees his low shot deflected wide by Smalling.
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47 min: Alli spins adroitly and makes towards United’s area. He feeds Kane on the left and the striker tries to find Moura at the far post. It isn’t a great cross, but De Gea dives down to meet it and almost pushes it on to Moura’s head. With his goal unguarded, United’s goalkeeper is relieved to see the ball loop over the Brazilian’s leap.
46 min: Tottenham get the second half underway. They take 30 seconds to lose the ball, allowing United to attack. Shaw raids down the left again and knocks a pass inside to Pogba, who swings a decent shot just wide from 25 yards. “Fascinating duel between Pogba and Alli to see just who can waste more possession in a single half of football,” Christopher Faherty says. “Alli with the more decisive misses, Pogba the more habitual and careless offender. We eagerly await the second half.”
Half-time: Manchester United 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United have had the better chances and most of the play, but Tottenham will feel aggrieved not to have been awarded a penalty for Phil Jones’s push on Lucas Moura. Overall it’s been a weird, ragged game, with neither side particularly impressive.
45 min: There will be one more minute of this scrappiness.
42 min: Surrounded by three Spurs players, Pogba knocks a five-yard pass out of play before remonstrating with Valencia for failing to support him. Moments later Alderweireld launches a long ball towards Moura. The ball floats over the Brazilian and falls to Alli on the left. He takes a touch and looks certain to score, only for Herrera to throw himself in front of the England midfielder’s shot.
40 min: Vertonghen hoicks a long ball into the area. Kane’s presence leads to the ball dropping to Moura, who seems surprised when it reaches him. His miscontrol runs back to Eriksen, who sees his tame low shot from 18 yards saved by De Gea.
39 min: Mousa Dembele has been an issue for Spurs tonight. He’s been slow on the ball, which has stopped Spurs from building any rhythm, and his passing’s been poor. This is a player who was expected to leave Spurs at the start of the summer.
36 min: “I am as astonished as you that that clear penalty was not called,” JR in Illinois says. “Would you be more astonished to know that Lee Dixon didn’t think it was a penalty? Absolutely ridiculous. Spurs don’t deserve to be leading this game but they still should be.”
35 min: Harry Kane appears to have decided he’s a midfielder.
34 min: More United pressure. Fred tees up Pogba, who bends a low shot towards the left corner from 20 yards. Lloris pushes it away. The ball comes to Valencia and the right-back’s cross hits Vertonghen, who’s relieved to see it spin inches past the near post.
31 min: I’ve now seen that clumsy barge from Jones on Moura three or four times and I am astonished that Tottenham were not awarded a penalty.
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30 min: Fred, who’s been impressive so far, bends a shot just past the far post from the right of Tottenham’s area.
29 min: Lucas Moura suddenly injects some urgency into Tottenham’s attack, speeding in from the right and using his strength to excellent effect. He bursts into the area and falls when Jones barges into him from behind. Craig Pawson waves Tottenham’s appeals away. It was a clear penalty. A pathetic decision from the referee.
26 min: Fred crosses from the left and Lukaku mistimes his header, glancing well wide. It was another good chance for the United forward.
25 min: De Gea just clears Moura’s head with a pass to Jones. That was close. The ball reaches Matic, but he doesn’t want it. Spurs swarm over him and Alli makes off with the ball, with United badly exposed. Yet Alli doesn’t know what he wants to do. Should he go alone or release Kane, who’s free to his right? He ends up caught between two stools, stumbles forward and allows Smalling to make a crucial saving challenge.
23 min: Kane takes another heavy touch and ends up sliding into Valencia, conceding a foul. Kane receives a booking. It’s a moment that sums up Tottenham’s level of play. They’ve been so careless on the ball.
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21 min: Shaw, who’s started well, wins a free-kick on the left after a foul from Trippier. Pochettino and Mourinho share a laugh on the touchline.
20 min: Valencia skews a shot well wide from 20 yards.
19 min: It’s all United. What a fearsome attacking force they are! On the left, Lingard swoops a pass over the top to the buccaneering Shaw. The left-back looks up and sweeps a cutback to Lukaku, who bobbles a disappointing low shot straight at Lloris. He should have scored. Up the other end, meanwhile, Herrera receives a booking for cleaning out Moura.
17 min: Mauricio Pochettino once said that he only needs 50 seconds to see if his team will struggle. I wonder what he makes of this start. Tottenham have been turgid so far and they’re well on their way to conceding a comedy goal.
16 min: Tottenham have been threatening to do this since the first whistle. They stroke the ball around the back for a bit and then Rose plays a shocking backpass towards Lloris. It’s way too short and Lukaku gets there first. He speeds round Lloris, only to pull the ball wide of the gaping net! What a farcical sequence of events!
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14 min: Eriksen turns near United’s area and lofts a beautiful pass over the top to Kane. The striker’s onside and he controls on his chest, but Jones peels back to clear before Kane can bring the ball down and shoot.
12 min: Tottenham seem a bit surprised with how quickly they’re being hounded in possession. They need to wake up.
10 min: Lucas Moura receives a booking after catching Phil Jones with a high boot. Jones is always in the wars, though he doesn’t take long to recover from that blow to his head.
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9 min: Lucas Moura skates down the right, away from Shaw, before overruning the ball as he charges into the area. The ball comes to Trippier on the right. His cross isn’t dealt with properly, but Pogba steps in before Rose can shoot on the left.
8 min: Jose Mourinho is writing something in his notepad. Probably about how much he loves Ed Woodward.
6 min: It is Ander Herrera in central defence for Manchester United. Nemanja Matic is screening a back five in midfield. I doubt Tottenham expected to be confronted by these tactics. How is Herrera going to cope with Harry Kane?
5 min: Ander Herrera is playing very deep. Is he in United’s defence?
4 min: It’s been a slow start from Tottenham. They’re dawdling on the ball and United are pressing them. Tottenham’s touch isn’t right yet.
2 min: As negative as this United side looks, it’s worth keeping in mind they beat Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea here last season. They have a habit of flicking the switch on when they’re under real pressure.
Peep! Manchester United, kicking from left to right, get the game underway. The home fans sound supportive and United are on the front foot immediately. Valencia launches a long ball forward and Fred almost takes advantage of some shaky Tottenham defending. The ball bounces off Alderweireld and falls to Fred, who arrows a shot just wide of the left post.
Here come the teams! They receive a big Old Trafford welcome. I can’t wait to see this Manchester United midfield, though it’s a shame Jose Mourinho’s left out Alexei Smertin, Steve Sidwell and Jiri Jarosik. “The pressure on Jose is not really from United, it’s from the world in general,” David Flynn says. “He doesn’t want to work with a director of football who can veto his insatiable need for expensive short term solutions, never the less, this is how the big clubs want to operate. Similarly, he’s been tactically left behind and seems unable to change, unable to admit that he needs better coaches around him. These problems are going to persist at whatever club he ends up in charge of.”
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Erik Lamela has tweaked a hamstring in the warm-up. Luke Amos replaces him on Tottenham’s bench.
“Totally agree with your response about that mail regarding Poch not being under pressure,” Azizul Islam says. “Plus I would like to add that Mourinho has been much longer in this managing game, as well as having pick of the ready made top players while working for super rich clubs. Compare this with Poch and how many of my beloved Spurs players were wanted by others before Poch got hold of them and improved them to beyond recognition? Plus the biggest pressure Poch had was to get rid off that soft underbelly. I am sure the “spursiness” will also be part of the folklore soon.”
Mauricio Pochettino speaks! “The most important thing is it is a different game and we play a different way. I was so pleased at the end of the Fulham game, but always you think about how every opponent is different. It is important that we are flexible. We go from one system to the next with zero stress. The plan is to be better than the opponent. We will see after 90 minutes.”
These are young players developed by Pochettino’s coaching. Mourinho, meanwhile, gets to leave Anthony Martial out of his 18.
@JacobSteinberg that first email hits the nail square on. Having more money means nothing because the relative worth of the team is the same. Eriksen and Kane are 200m worth of talent at least.
— Bruv (@Bourgy) August 27, 2018
“Kudos to Wall,” Arthur Tee says. “Poch not only has no pressure he has the ready made excuse you afforded him... the impecunious Spurs.Mourinho has to win or else and with a squad that the media keep saying is full of great talent. But what really makes Rashford, Shaw and Martial great talents? Rashford started one game in the World Cup, a game England were better off losing. Martial and Shaw have been mediocre to be kind.”
Pochettino has transformed the smallest top-six club in England and turned them into Champions League regulars and title challengers in four years, even though he has a small budget, and he does it with good football. Mourinho is at the biggest club in England and hasn’t challenged for the title, even though he’s broken the world transfer record for Paul Pogba and signed Alexis Sanchez on £300,000 a week wages. Marcus Rashford, meanwhile, was regarded as the most exciting young English talent before Mourinho got his hands on him.
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Pre-match reading
An email! “There’s been a lot in the build up to this match of the different way in which the two managers have responded to the situations at their respective clubs over the summer (with at least two of three articles on this website over the weekend on that very issue),” David Wall says. “But what seems not to have been considered too much in this is the different expectations they face. Pochettino has been at Spurs longer than Mourinho but has come no closer to winning something than a couple of semi finals and distant second place finishes. Yet he knows that his job is secure, and he’d face little dissent from the stands or boardroom, even if they win nothing again this season. It’s likely that wouldn’t change much even if they missed out on the champions’ league places. In contrast Mourinho is expected to win the league, or come damn close and win one of the cups. And failure to do that, even repeating the runner-up league and cup finishes of last year, would probably have calls for him to go throughout the season, and the loss of his job at the end of it. That difference in pressure, fair or not, is likely to affect someone’s mood and attitude. Of course, he doesn’t help himself with some of the things he does and says. But it’s at least understandable why he might behave as he is doing, and should be taken into account when people are dishing out the criticism.”
I’m not sure I entirely agree. You have to take into account the difference in resources. Mourinho has had way more money to spend than Pochettino, even though he’s only been at United since 2016.
Jose Mourinho explains his changes after the Brighton debacle: “We didn’t play well, we made mistakes, we changed the team. The match before, we played well, no mistakes, we didn’t change the team. If I don’t play Matic when he’s ready, if I don’t play Valencia when he’s ready, I don’t play Lingard when he’s ready, I don’t think you’d accept it. I could also be fair and say Tottenham had similar problems that we had. I think every professional player, a guy like Matic who’s come from surgery, they have to be ready for 90 minutes to make that effort. He is always the same, he is a player who gives balance to the team. He has a different level of experience. I hope to see 11 players fighting hard with the great organisation we trained during the week. I also expect a team of 11 to be involved in an attacking performance.”
Manchester United make six changes after the defeat to Brighton and it’s not easy to work out what system Jose Mourinho will use. There’s talk of the returning Nemanja Matic slotting into a back five, though there’s also a chance the Serbian will be part of a midfield three, with Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard supporting Romelu Lukaku. At the back, Antonio Valencia replaces Ashley Young at right-back and Phil Jones and Chris Smalling replace Victor Lindelof and the discarded Eric Bailly. Alexis Sanchez is on the bench, meanwhile, and poor old Anthony Martial has been left out altogether.
Tottenham make two changes to the team that beat Fulham last week. Hugo Lloris starts after being charged with drink-driving last week and Mauricio Pochettino moves to a back four. Davinson Sanchez makes way for Mousa Dembele, meaning Toby Alderweireld partners Jan Vertonghen, and Danny Rose is in for Ben Davies. Alderweireld, of course, was a target for United in the summer. This is a huge night for him.
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Team news
Manchester United: De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Smalling, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Fred; Lingard, Pogba; Lukaku. Subs: Grant, Lindelof, Young, McTominay, Fellaini, Rashford, Sanchez.
Tottenham: Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Dier, Dembele; Lucas, Alli, Eriksen; Kane. Subs: Vorm, Davies, Aurier, Sanchez, Winks, Lamela, Llorente.
Referee: Craig Pawson.
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Preamble
Hello. Given Tottenham’s miserable record at Old Trafford in recent years, it hasn’t quite reached the point where Mauricio Pochettino can enter the away dressing room this evening and say “Lads, it’s Manchester United” before walking out again. Tottenham have lost on all four visits to this ground under Pochettino, failing to score in any of those games, and this is the moment where it’s obligatory for me to point out they <richardkeys>they haven’t won here since Tactics Tim beat David Moyes in a battle of Proper Football Men on 1 January 2014</richardkeys>. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
Maybe not. Yet point here is that while United are a total mess at the moment, with Jose Mourinho threatening a spectacular public implosion, this is one fixture where they tend to come up with the goods. Tottenham, for all their progress under Pochettino in the past four years, still have something to prove. They will face some awkward questions if they freeze again, just as they did when they lost to United in their FA Cup semi-final last season. To be brutally honest, that was a choke on Tottenham’s part. They led early and threw it away in a manner that suggests this vibrant young team might never be ready to take the most important step in their development and win something of substance.
That said, there’s no doubt that Tottenham are in much better shape than United at the moment. They’ve started the season with two wins, despite failing to sign anyone in the summer, and the visitors be in a wonderful chance of maintaining their 100% record if they find the level that saw them come back from a goal down to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for the first time since 1990 back in April. Tottenham hadn’t won away at a fellow top-six rival since February 2016 before that game, but in the end their performance underlined why they’re a breath of fresh air compared to Mourinho’s dour United.
There, ultimately, is the rub. On form, Tottenham should win this. United are fast approaching crisis territory. Mourinho is spreading negativity with his farcical sulking, Paul Pogba is raising intrigue with a series of mysterious public pronouncements and Toby Alderweireld will be wearing Tottenham’s colours this evening. Judging by last week’s collapse against Brighton, United’s fear factor is slipping away and a second consecutive defeat would leave them six points behind title favourites Watford after three games. Last season, however, they had a habit of raising their game when they hosted their rivals. They have enough individual talent to win when everything comes together and that has to be the worry for Tottenham, who need to show that some old habits do die hard.
Kick-off: 8pm BST.
